I’m fascinated by the second verse of the Bible, that the earth was in darkness, formless and empty with the Spirit of God hovering over it. Jesus, the Holy Spirit and God were present at the beginning and didn’t waste any time revealing the plot: God loves and hovers over me.
My yard is aflutter with birds lately. There are house finches on my front porch, robins in the dogwood and cardinals in the tall crepe myrtle near my window. These are the ones I see daily hovering over their nests. The finches very politely tell us our porch is off limits while they’re nesting. The bird feeder, once busy, hangs silent from the dogwood because the robins built a nest over it and scare off any bird who stops to eat. The cardinals are my favorite. They chirp and swoosh by too, if I pass closely, but it is when the squirrels attempt an attack on their young that the parents really shine.
About twice a day I hear a cacophony so intense that I run to the window and join the hysteria. I usually arrive to see the squirrel springing from the tree and the angry red father chasing wildly after it. And I think, what great love. Do cardinals love, exactly? I don’t know but God does. And so much more than that. He didn’t build this nest to abandon me in it. He is here. He is still loving and hovering.
Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. Genesis 1:2
Meeting God at the Park 