Close to midnight when the darkness is darkest, I was sleeping next to Leo, my 3 year-old grandson. He woke up startled on his first night staying with us last week. “Mamère, what’s that?” he asked.
“That’s an owl. Can you hear it? Who, who, who!”
“Is it in the house?”
“No, no, it’s across the bayou way up high in the trees.”
Whoooooooooo!
“Scary.”
“Don’t worry, I’m here. The owl is far away.”
“Far away? Outside? In the trees?”
We talked for a while about owls, how they live in trees, hunt at night, call to their friends. The questions went on and on until I sleepily said, “It’s time to be quiet now and go back to sleep.”
I turned on the sound machine and the ocean waves calmed us both back to sleep. But Leo talked about the owl for days. Who knew that his 3 year-old brain would be so curious and so afraid of owls?
Our fears, our worries, especially in the darkness of the night are unreasonable. We know this, but nevertheless, the threat feels real.
How do you listen to the owls?
My presence will go with you and I will give you rest.
Exodus 33:14
Enter your Spiritual Thursday blog posts here: https://fresh.inlinkz.com/p/7ce77be0aa2142e583f84dd128d477e7
Margaret, this is lovely. I read Christine’s “Be still” post when I awakened. I have been sick and have fallen away from so much. Feeling renewed now, I realize that we all have such common sentiments circulating in these trying times. My response can be found at: https://www.susankoehlerwrites.com/post/be-still Thank you.
I added it to inlinkz. Thanks for writing. I’m glad you are on the mend.
I love this, Margaret. Thank you so much. I don’t know if I’ll get a post out today or not. I’m leading crafts for our VBS next week, and my co-crafter has Covid. I’m a little stressed, but I trust it’ll work out. In case you are not familiar, your little Leo will probably love Owl Babies by Martin Waddell. A preschool favorite!
[…] thanks to Chris Margocs for the “Be still” invitation and to Margaret Simon for the “Presence” offering on behalf of our Spiritual Journey writer’s group on […]
Love this story featuring owls and precious Leo – and above all, the truth about fears that come in the darkest part of the night, and the unreasonable nature of them. That is indeed when they are worst. That photo is priceless!
Chris M. also sent out an invitation of SJT on “Be still” which is what I wrote about this morning. I am amazed by how your theme of presence intertwines with hers on being still in the face of fears. This is how the Lord works, moving in the hearts of His people…I linked up with Chris and am linking up here also.
So grateful for this group.
-sorry for hitting “enter’ and making the link do that big thing.
Thank you for your remembering! I would be talking about the owl for days too! Thank goodness you were there for loving support.
I seem to be rolling with life at the same time that I’m trying to tick off the boxes on my summer “to-do” list. https://awordedgewiselindamitchell.blogspot.com/
Precious photo of Leo! Beautiful! I love how you explained some facts to him about the owls. I remember the curiosity and 3-year-old fears. My oldest was afraid of Disney movies for the longest time, but now, I think she might have been 4. Our youngest, our musician, Heather was afraid of thunderstorms. I loved watching thunderstorms. I remember explaining about the facts of thunderstorms on her level and reading books to her about them. The more she learned, the less afraid she was, and she grew to love thunderstorms and loved watching them with me. Maybe you can read some books to Leo about owls. Maybe you could show him how to make an owl with Play-Doh or he could trace owl parts and glue them together. How lovely for both Leo and you spending the night and day together playing with Play-Doh, which I still love to play with, painting, and helping him cope with his owl fear. I see spirituality in your post, night and day with him. You are both blessed. Thank you for sharing; I enjoyed this a lot.
Margaret, I am dumbfounded as to why my comments do not appear so once again I will rewrite what I wrote. Leo is adorable. His smile is full of happiness. Children have fears and I see it with my two also. Your calming way must influence Leo. Thank you for the scripture reading. Enjoy your weekend.
To be present for your grandchild is a beautiful thing, Margaret. There are many times at work that I would love to crawl into the mind of a child to see the pathways of their thoughts and feelings, to be able to connect more effectively. Being present is the closest we can get, I suppose. I appreciate the appearance of my spirit animal in your post as well; I could use a good dose of wisdom these days!