In her book ‘Pilgrim at Tinker Creek,’ American author Annie Dillard encourages her readers to Learn to pray with their eyes open. That phrase has stuck in my mind because I think Dillard is urging me to be attentive to God and my surroundings.

This past year of lockdown has been an opportunity to pray with eyes open, to not be in such a hurry or so preoccupied with completing tasks that we forget to be attentive to what’s going on around us. We are learning to listen and notice that evidence of God’s creativity abounds.

In forests, we’ve watched delicate snow showers cascade from overburdened branches like confetti falling on a bride and her new husband. We’ve held our breath, waiting for the woodpecker to resume his tapping and the birds their song, as we newly discover the breadth and diversity of Mongolia’s bird population.

Many endangered species reside here, probably because the country is large and the human population small. Nomadic culture and sparse development beyond populated areas has left the countryside largely unscathed, letting animals and birds flourish without human interference.

Like most countries, Mongolia has plenty of stories of the ancient links between bird and man. Chinghis Khan had many great falconers who used golden eagles to hunt and keep people fed during the harsh winters. Today falconers, in the far west of Mongolia continue that tradition. The magpie, collector of all things sparkly, with his distinct white, blue, black and iridescent green feathers, supposedly announces the arrival of an unexpected visitor when seen sitting on a ger’s hitching post. And swallows, arriving early summer from wintering in Africa, carry with them a sense of the constancy of the changing seasons that Mongolians say, points towards eternity.

Aware of our ignorance, we have bought a book about Mongolian birds in the hope that we can finally recognise and name the birds we see. But it’s a slow process. We need to sharpen our vision, discern the differences between a variety of crows and appreciate the birds’ routines. And not least of all, learn from others.

Yet a flock of sparrows near our house, has happily made their home in a huge, tangled mass of thick wire. They’ve adapted to their surroundings. But the reality is that progress endangers their environment and destroys their habitat, causing them to decline or die. It is a delicate balance of which the birds are unaware.

But life here is not static. Mongolia is rapidly changing. Fewer children follow their parents’ nomadic way of life. The discovery of vast mineral deposits promises development and wealth for Mongolia and disruption for the countryside. Pollution and steppe fires, poaching and overgrazing of cattle are beginning to impact wildlife and threaten the birds’ habitat.

Life is a delicate balance and walking with God in this complex changing world requires attention. Praying with eyes open, we learn a lesson. Birds live lives abandoned to their creator. Resting in His hand, they receive His wonderful care as He supplies all their needs. They live without anxiety and truly soar.

The simplicity of this good news proclaims a profound truth: all things in the universe that have been created by and through Christ are sustained by God.