Beauty In The Looney Tunes… Hi to you all on this Hump Day. I have a question for you: have you ever experienced the call of the Common Loon? Growing up in northern Wisconsin, that call was one of the most beautiful sounds I loved. My dad and I would go out with our hot coffee mugs and sit on the deck very early in the morning while low clouds on the lake were starting to rise. We waited for the dance of the Loons, it was incredible and to this day it warms my heart. The dance, the song they sang, it was to me and still is a very spiritual moment. My dad would call it the “morning looney tunes.” Gosh I miss him but this is something I can treasure in my heart.

Well, my Smithsonian came in the other day and the first picture was the Common Loon. And I learned a lot about this 38+ year-old female mama who goes by the name ‘Fe’ (Fay). This year she produced her 42nd Chick. And guess what—she is famous and people flock to see her every year when she flies back to Michigan’s Seney National Wildlife Refuge which is an incredible place. They call her the longest running “soap opera” in birding lives.

So, what is so special about this bird? Common loons are water birds that breed on freshwater lakes in the northern United States and Canada. When temperatures start to plummet in the fall, they migrate east and west to the warmer, coastal waters of both the Atlantic and the Pacific. While they are out there they do NOT sing, but when they come back to U.S. northern states they sing their unique lullaby. They spend most of their days on the water, floating and submerging their long bills to catch fish. My dad and I would see them get a sizable Northern Pike and dad would say, “well there goes our dinner tonight.” Loons are also extremely powerful because, unlike other birds that have ‘hollow bones’ the Loon has solid bones giving them a denser skeleton and the ability to be superb divers.

OK, all that said, what is the connection of this to a devotion? Love, song, incredible creation and so much more. What song stops you in your tracks and you smile and sing along. What catches your eye when you are out in God’s incredible Creation and you see remarkable stuff you haven’t seen before? What does your mind think, what does your heart think—is it pumping with joy at seeing God’s magnificence?

Today we get wrapped up in so many things we miss the incredible, we miss the songs that don’t need words because the melody is so powerful it captures our souls. Our society is so fast-paced, loud and self-centered—no wonder we can’t hear the songs God has given to us!

In the Message Bible in 1 Corinthians 14:13-15, we read a passage that encourages us to use our songs for our prayers, our minds, our hearts to encourage us and others. The energy in this passage is so crucial to what we need: “So, when you pray in your private prayer language, don’t hoard the experience for yourself. Pray for the insight and ability to bring others into that intimacy. If I pray in tongues, my spirit prays but my mind lies fallow, and all that intelligence is wasted. So what’s the solution? The answer is simple enough. Do both. I should be spiritually free and expressive as I pray, but I should also be thoughtful and mindful as I pray. I should sing with my spirit, and sing with my mind.”

Living in the West we don’t hear the song of the Loon but, in my mind I know it very well and it gives me joy and especially on a bad day, it gives me encouragement—the uplift we all need now and then. I picture the mama Loon with her babies on her back gliding through the water with little effort. She is loving her life and that is exactly what God wants for you and me—to stop the rat-race and love living your life!

In closing, take a moment to cherish some of your most powerful times that still fill your heart. Doesn’t that feel great? Then don’t stop! Keep getting out into God’s Creation and listen to the wind, the birds, the crackling of fall leaves, the gentle snow and smells of nature. These are all a part of your life, too. Find that tune and let God’s song fill your heart, mind and soul today—and why not every day?! Now that’s an AMEN.

(The picture above is Fe’s 2 chicks in Spring 2024)

Here is the song of the Loon: https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/108763751