30 Days Wild
Since the lockdown began, I have been listening to Andy Croft and Mike Pilavachi’s ‘Take Heart’ series and saw the latest upload as ‘The secret to happiness, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.’ That’s definitely one to listen to on day 101 on lockdown!
In this short talk, Andy Croft reminds us that God asks us to give thanks in all circumstances (note – not for all circumstances) and to enjoy the little things. We’ve certainly all had ample time to practise the latter these stay-at-home days (albeit rather annoyingly at times). Andy also quotes theologian G K Chesterton: ‘We sit perhaps in a starry chamber of silence, while the laughter of the heavens is too loud for us to hear.’ I had this image of us humans confined to our little boxes (homes) whilst all around creation rejoices and sings, laughs and chatters God’s praises! Curious to read more, I googled G K Chesterton. What he writes immediately after is this: ‘joy is the gigantic secret of the Christian.’
Is that true for you? I am certainly not known for being Jennifer-Joy-Jobbins for the most part. I’ll be taking part in The Wildlife Trusts’ ‘30 Days Wild’ challenge in June and trusting that God will turn each of these ‘Wild’ days into days to enjoy his creation and become a bit more joyful through the process.
The challenge’s aim is to bring people closer to nature where they live, taking small actions that can collectively have a big impact: every Random Act of Wildness counts! When you sign up with The Wildlife Trust, you’ll be able to download a host of goodies to help you plan your month, including a wallchart, wildlife bingo, an activity passport and a nature table template.
I am excited to be taking part with my daughter. I’d really encourage you to take up this challenge too (individually, as a household or with your church community). There is a ‘30 Days Wild’ app, which you can download here, and you can sign up for the daily email here.
I would love to hear from you if you are planning to take part! We’re hoping to include a collective spotlight special for our ‘nature and community’ email in July and would love for those participating to share one Random Act of Wildness they’ve completed with the rest of the Wild Christian community by writing a paragraph on how you’re finding the challenge and sending a photo to: wild.christian@arocha.org. You can also send us a message plus photo via our social media channels @ARochaUK (Twitter), @arocha_uk (Instagram) or @A Rocha UK (Facebook).
Jennifer Jobbins, Wild Christian Programme Coordinator and A Rocha UK Communications Officer.
I would like to share how the wild came to my street last night. Early in the evening the bluetits nesting in a gap in the wall of my house fledged and started exploring the tarmac square in front of my house and taking shelter under the parked cars. Apart from the bushes in my front garden which they spurned, there was no natural shelter. They hid behind wheelie bins and in cracks in the concrete and pavements, except for one which froze in the middle of the square. As residents put rubbish in the bins I told them to watch out for the chicks, and as drivers moved their cars I told them when it was safe to go! The bluetits were living dangerously and several times I had to rescue one out of harm’s way. When the clap for the NHS started everyone saw the chicks and were either dismissive or charmed. As if to top it off, swifts returned in strength, seven doing a screaming fly past, hopefully eyeing up my newly installed swift boxes . I was so thankful for this small opportunity to share with my neighbours these tiny, fragile, barely mobile and certainly flightless chicks who needed their protection from cats, dogs and cars. There is a lot more birdlife around my street during the lockdown than previously and I hope my neighbours will be glad as I am that they are making their presence felt and heard. It feels to me like they are messengers from God to say “We are still here. Don’t ignore us. Now you have time to observe and pay attention to what you see, learn the lessons we can teach you.” Watching them I felt like a mother hen, and later as I went home and could no longer hear the chirps of babies or calls of parents I felt an empty nest feeling and entrusted them to God’s care in a neighbouring garden.
Hi Sally, thanks for sharing your ‘wild’ Thursday evening. Let’s hope the chicks are safe and well! I had the pleasure of watching a Mummy Moorhen looking after one of her newly-hatched chicks yesterday and we’re about to set off to see how the chick is doing (and if anything has happened with the other three eggs). Great to hear about the swift boxes too, these are so important.