September 20

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

One of my favorite things to do, when the weather is right, is to sleep with the windows open. Admittedly, it’s not something I can do very often, but as the weather breaks in late August and early September, now is usually a good opportunity for it. And while being on Branch Pike brings a certain amount of vehicle noise into my bedroom, it’s the chirps and clicks of nature that makes it worth the while for me.

Did you know that most of the nocturnal noises you hear, the chirping and other melodious noises, actually come from frogs? New Jersey has a robust frog population, both in numbers and in variety; we even have a unique one, commonly known as the Pine Barrens tree frog. All these amphibians make their presence known with the chorus of noise they make in the nighttime. And yet, they are rarely, if ever, seen by most people. I was delighted a couple weeks ago, when I had a little visitor on my porch step one evening, a grey little frog taking a rest and hanging out. That’s the first frog I’ve seen out and about in years, yet I hear them all the time.

But isn’t that kind of how we experience God at times? His abiding presence is with us all the time, though if we’re not paying attention, it can be much like the background noise at night with our friends, the frogs. Present but not necessarily seen, there but not necessarily noticed, unless we really concentrate on what’s going on around us. Sometimes we may take that abiding presence for granted and only realize it was there when there’s a sudden break or silence that occurs. Of course, sometimes we’re looking for something more tangible, the sighting of an actual frog or a demonstrable answer to prayer, such as a miracle. And yet, the presence of God isn’t really background noise at all, but the beautiful music that guides our lives; always inviting us to join more deeply but never forcing or compelling us to do so.

And so, my dear friends, you may think this an odd letter in the bulletin this week; frankly, you may be right. But sometimes taking a step back or approaching things from a different direction can help prompt us to discover something wonderful and new. The next time you find yourself with a quiet moment on a summer night, maybe take a moment and listen to the symphony of the frogs around you. The high trills and the consistent chirps and everything else in between. Don’t treat it as background noise, but as a gentle reminder of the beauty of God’s creation and of His abiding presence in your life. And while you might not see either the frogs or the Lord, they’re still there, making their presence known in other ways.

Peace and Goodness,

Fr. Dan