For the first time since we've lived in Lombard (ok, really the first time in my life), I was driving to the gym this morning and a fox was walking down the 300 block of Lombard! Then, as I'm driving to work, a skunk appears before ducking back under a car.
A fox, a skunk - big deal, right? Animals are everywhere.
What's crazy though is I'm reading this fiction piece called, Chasing Francis. It's about this guy who has pretty much lost his faith and his Franciscan cousin calls him to Italy to study St. Francis. Basically, the story takes you through this guys journey while teaching what St. Francis has to say about life.
Last night, it talked all about Francis' love of animals. He would preach to them, sing with them, pray with them. See Francis believed that all of earth - nature, animals, humans worked together to praise God and we could praise God through all of them. To him, a chance meeting with a fox on Lombard Ave was just as sacred as reading the Bible. A skunk crossing your path was just as big a miracle as someone finding faith.
I worry, in this busy world of ours, that I'm missing some of God's greatest gifts. Maybe my lack of motivation or energy is tied more into those sacred moments than not having a 44 ouncer every morning.
This is where I think we could learn a little bit from those kids living on a dollar a day. When we were in Ethiopia, those folks noticed. Plants, animals, people - they were sacred for many reasons. But, they wouldn't miss God in those things. We shouldn't either.
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