The grass beneath a tree is content and silent. A squirrel holds an acorn in its praying hands, offering thanks, it looks like.
And the squirrel looks down and says, "Hey."
I have been saying "Hey" lately too, to God.
Formalities just weren't working.
Sr. Helen Rosenthal, RSCJ, recently posted the above poem on her blog, Reflections of an RSCJ. It comes from a book by Daniel Ladinsky, Love Poems from God: Twelve Sacred Voices from the East and West. I laughed out loud when I read it! Hey! Hey, God? Isn't that a bit irreverent? Maybe, maybe not. St. Teresa of Avila stressed that prayer is "nothing but friendly conversation with Him Who we know loves us," so why wouldn't I sometimes say "Hey" to God?
"Hey," according to one dictionary, is "a shout expressing joy, or a question, or used to attract attention." It can communicate dismay -- "Hey, squirrel! Why are you dropping your broken shells all over me?!" – or discovery – "Hey, grass! What a surprise! I didn't realize that you were down there!" "Hey" can mean wonder, pleasure or appreciation. Aren't these all part of my loving conversation with my Lord at one time or another? Hey!
This little three-letter word packs a punch! It could even be a sort of shorthand for those multiple alleluia's that we are singing so happily throughout this glorious Eastertide. "Hey! The strife is o'er, the battle done!" "Hey! This is the day that the Lord has made!" "Hey! He is not here! He is risen, as He said!" "Hey! Christ our Passover has been sacrificed! Let us rejoice and be glad!"
"The grass beneath a tree is content and silent," and so am I -- but sometimes I just have to say "HEY"!
Dear Lord, You give me so many reasons to say "Hey!," and I thank You for them all. Amen. ALLELUIA!
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