At a conference recently, I had a moment of distraction when our eyes met – those of a single stem of purple foxglove outside the window and mine.
Was it in recognition that it seemed to nod in my direction? Or rather with the wind up was it not more likely dancing, letting itself go despite its fixed position in the soil?
Sitting there I couldn’t help but notice the graceful presence of this elegant creature and was reminded of how bees and other visitors are best placed to appreciate the visual harmonies they follow in search of a good table. And how in summer a group of foxgloves will stand by the roadside and seem to wave to us as we drive or walk briskly past.
It struck me, too, how blind and deaf we are to how God speaks to us in creation; how in every creature is expressed something of God! Shocking as it may sound, it’s true that in this one foxglove I am being blessed and given a glimpse of a world beyond our small human imaginings of what ‘being alive’ means!
For it is the same Lord of life who draws the foxglove into being as draws you and me, as gives expression to the dolphin, lark and centipede. The same Spirit of life who indwells every species, causing each one to flourish – irrespective of us! The same Spirit who says: when in doubt, ‘ask the other creatures who you are and they will tell you’ (Job 12:7-10).