Twice a month I talk with a spiritual director on the phone. In the first hour I listen to her. In the second appointment, she listens to me. 

We have been giving our gifts of spiritual direction to one another for probably five years. We have known each other for more than forty years. 

We are like sisters, we are good friends. 

When I discovered a great gray heron and a crane in the same frame on Dale Bicksler's website -- http://druthersndragons.com/druthersndragons/Home.html, I thought of my spiritual companion. 

Her Mother's family comes from a ranch South Dakota that they shared with Sandhill Cranes. 

Who are the people with whom you stand?

This morning I read Psalm 31. It begins "In you, O Lord, I seek refuge; do not ever let me be put to shame; in your righteousness deliver me" and concludes "Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the Lord." 

Waiting involves a crucial step and that is knowing how to recognize the time to act. We await God-given opportunities to act. 

While vacationing I read a few entries in 100 Birds and How They Got Their Names. In it, Diane Wells tells us that herons find their nourishment by various means. They feed on water creatures and small land creatures. The Japanese green-backed heron sometimes takes food dropped by humans or feathers to bait fish. They use their feet to remove silt to catch mud dwellers or wiggle a foot to rouse the interest of fish.

By my nature, I am inventive. Like the heron who has various means by which to catch fish, I have realized that I am able to catch the nourishment that I need day by day.

One of my desires is to offer spiritual direction. So I pursued two women to meet with me for direction. I am setting up my own internship.

The lives of birds can inspire us to do what we are able to do now. Is there a bird that draws you into contemplation and action?

Wells tells us that herons are among our most ancient birds. "Our ancestors, who revered them, noticed how high up they fly: 'Where,' wrote Rabanus Maurus in the ninth century, 'they behold forever, the countenance of God.'" 

May we each see the countenance of God today.

Many people awake to find that they have been living the wrong life. Their orientation was wrong. This morning that was my exact thought -- I have been living the wrong life.

I am aware that I feel best when I am looking outward, forgetting myself.
Focusing beyond myself does not come naturally, nor was it possible or even a good idea until I had realized the trouble I was in. 

After years of working on my closest connections with members of my immediate and extended family, it is time to let the work in those realms I have done suffice and move on. 

Like this heron, my attention is moving outward.

This morning I read in Psalm 5 "Let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, so that those who love your name may exult in you."

Today, I find refuge in God and sing for joy. Healing is on-going. I need not open the bandages too often to check. I am free to do acts of kindness with good cheer. May God help me to return to this orientation when my compass tips sideways.

Are you also sensing a call to increased freedom?

From a government study posted on-line, I learned that 69% of herons die in their first year of life, 36% in their second and 22% in the years following. Herons have few natural predators once grown but living to adulthood is a gift. 17 year old banded herons have been found in the wild. The oldest banded heron identified was 23 years old.

"Documented factors contributing to great blue heron mortality include disease, predation (mostly of the young), winter kill, illegal shooting, choking, and possibly high levels of chemical contamination. The young are vulnerable to predation, disease, inclement weather, starvation, and falls from the nest (both accidental and sibling-caused). The effects of egg shell thinning caused by pesticides and other chemicals has been a suspected cause of reproductive failure, though there is no clear evidence of its adverse effects."

Human beings are also vulnerable, especially in our youth.

This morning I read Psalm 140, a prayer for God's protection: "deliver me from evildoers . . . . guard me from the hands of the wicked . . . . give ear, O Lord, to the voice of my supplications . . . those who surround me lift up their heads." Our vulnerability is real. Our losses are real. We do need protection from those who plot against us. Like the Psalmist "I know that the Lord maintains the cause of the needy, and executes justice for the poor." Fair and reasonable treatment of those who have suffered wrong is a beautiful thing. I have been the recipient of just treatment and am grateful for it. 

The great blue heron pictured above has survived many near calamities. This bird is an adult now but not foolish. It stands on its own two feet in the marsh. It has had time to develop the skills it requires to live and to care for the needs of its young.

Many, many people, like the heron chicks die young. We read and hear these stories every day. I have had minimal exposure to those who have died prematurely. I am well into my adult life and know many who are 70, 80, and 90 years old. We live with death and life, together. 

May we each live gratefully and more importantly, care for those most vulnerable within our sphere of influence.

www.epa.gov/region1/ge/thesite/restofriver/reports/final_era/B%20-%20Focus%20Species%20Profiles/EcoRiskProfile_great_blue_heron.pdf