A few months ago, as spring was emerging, I was still waking up in the dark, but there came a day when I’d open my eyes in the morning, and no longer hear the stillness of night.
Instead, I would wake to the sounds of birds singing. It struck me that their song came before the sun rose, before the day had begun. And being me, it all felt rather poetic.
I learn a lot about life from nature, and I don’t think that is a mistake. God is so intentional in all that He does, that creation reveals His words to us. So I looked up this pre-light bird-singing to find out more about what it meant. And here is what I found:
“[It’s] male birds, attempting to attract mates and warn other males away from their territories.”
‘Oh,’ I thought. ‘Well that’s not cute or poetic. It’s just base animal nature.’ I was disappointed, until I read on.
“Scientists call this the dawn chorus.”
‘Okay. Lit name. Super poetic – I’ll take it!’ was my next thought. As I carried on reading, I learnt that males would sing before it’s light because, as singing attracts attention, there’s less chance that a predator who heard them would be able to see them. Smart.
I read that singing is costly for a bird, in energy and in time. That singing in the morning signalled strength and vitality. It meant that you had survived the night.
There it was. When you are going through your darkest night, when you do not know at what point the light will come but are sure that it will… sing your song. Tell the world that you have made it through. Even before the dawn has come.
For me, the next time I am going through a long night, the song I will sing will not be one of my own strength and vitality, but of the strength of a God who comes through and works things out EVERY TIME. A song to and of the One who makes all things beautiful in His time, the One who is there in the dark and in the dawn and in the brightest of days. The constant, the ever-faithful. My strength and my song.
do the write thing 