As the nation eases out of lockdown it’s a good time to reflect on some of the positive aspects of our enforced isolation.

One of the things so many people have remarked upon is the clearer, unpolluted sky and the sound of birdsong which has not been drowned out by the noise of traffic.

Over the past month or so we’ve watched sparrows make a nest in the gable end of our house. They worked so hard taking nesting materials and disappearing into the hole in the wooden facia board. Then we watched as they flew to and fro feeding their young. Now we’re watching as the little ones learn to fly – they seem to launch themselves and free fall before flapping their wings and flying!

All this we’ve watched as a family and my grand-daughters have loved seeing the little ones taking the seeds they’ve put out for them.

Of course, for many the lockdown has been a time of great difficulty, both economically and emotionally. Being unable to work might have meant making a choice between paying the rent or feeding the family. Being unable to go outside might have meant being unable to give or receive support at such a difficult time, particularly if faced with bereavement.

Watching the sparrows reminds me that Jesus reassuring his disciples tells them that as God cares for sparrows which can be bought for a few coppers, then God certainly cares for them. Comforting words, words to put heart into anxious disciples, words to prepare them for the difficult time ahead and they did, as the followers of Jesus proclaimed the good news that God loves all that he has created.

So now, as we tentatively emerge from lockdown, we must reach out in love to support and comfort those most drastically affected by the lockdown in the hope that the ‘new normal’ will produce a kinder more equal society.

JENNY KILGOUR