Seeking Burning Bushes

Earth’s crammed with heaven, and every common bush afire with God; but only he who sees, takes off his shoes –
the rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.
~~Elizabeth Barrett Browning

A dusty path, a dreary land
A wooden staff in weathered hand
A holy blaze that never dies
A miracle before the eyes
A stumbling onto holy ground
God revealed in sight and sound
As it was for Moses why not me?
If I can teach my eyes to see

There are burning bushes everywhere
Fiery flowers, blazing for hours
Waiting for us to see them there
The red and the green, dancing unseen through our days
Lighting the path, keeping our lives ablaze.

The roll of dice, the belly laugh
The ancient tale, the photograph
The mouse's click, the lovers' kiss
all of Heaven speaks through this
The taste of bread, the t.v. show
Are signs for those who are in the know
How I take for granted daily grace
The voice of God is common place

For there are burning bushes everywhere
Fiery flowers, blazing for hours
Waiting for us to see them there
The red and the green, dancing unseen through our days
Lighting the path, keeping our lives ablaze.

It's not that God is far away
Only whispering on special days
Our lives are spent on holy ground
God speaks so much we ignore the sound

When there are burning bushes everywhere
Fiery flowers, blazing for hours
Waiting for us to see them there
The red and the green, dancing unseen through our days
Lighting the path, keeping our lives ablaze.



I wrote the above song whilst away on a retreat this weekend. I sat down staring at a bush and reflected on what are the common 'burning bushes' (signs of God's presence) in my life. Those places, people, activities etc that fill me up and help me feel connected to something much larger than just myself. Board Games, emails, fresh home made bread may not be 'bushes' for you, but they are for me.

So the question is:

What are your 'burning bushes'?