Prefer to listen? I recored this post for you!
I’m wiping the counters again and I see it. A flash of yellow that wasn’t in my yard before.
I stare hard trying to catch a glimpse of the flittering creature again, hoping to see something to help me identify it.
Finally it stands still for a moment on my lilac bush and I recognize its beautiful face and beady eye. I can’t remember it’s name but I watch closely for behaviour or other identifying markers that I can look up later.
I look down at my counter. I’m not sure how much time has passed as I watched my newly arrived pair of yellow warblers. There are things to do. I can’t get lost looking out the window.
But right there I hear it. The whisper from the Holy Spirit.
“Consider the birds…”
I recognize this as the beginning of a verse and feel the invitation to look it up.
I find that these words are spoken by Jesus just after he exhorts us not to worry or to be anxious.
“Consider the birds—do you think they worry about their existence? They don’t plant or reap or store up food, yet your heavenly Father provides them each with food. Aren’t you much more valuable to your Father than they?”Matthew 6:26 TPT
I began to look up other translations to see how “consider” was worded. Most of them said “look at the birds…”
Look at the birds.
For a moment I knew the Lord was inviting me to stop, look and consider these creatures he designed. I suddenly see that this little hobby of watching for the ones that declare that spring is here is more significant than I realized.
As I considered the birds I found my mind wandering to the fact that they know exactly where to go in each season. Like some external force is pulling them. Leading them on. And I felt peace that in every season I will continue to be pulled exactly where God would have me go.
I have devoured Ginny Yurich’s book “Until the Streetlight Come On: how a return to play brightens our present and prepares kids for an uncertain future” over the last couple of weeks and she said many incredible things (I cannot recommend this book enough!!) but something that stood out to me was what she said toward the end of her book:
“Because we are so smart and sophisticated and have access to the World Wide Web in our pockets, we look for calculus-level answers to our daily problems when we may not need something so complicated.”
Perhaps one of Jesus’ antidotes to anxiety really is to look at the birds. Perhaps when he mentioned it it wasn’t simply a sermon illustration but a reminder to stop, root yourself in what is actually happening around you, breathe in his creation and notice how good his design really is. To consider his ways and the beauty of what he has made.
Corrie Ten Boom writes of how in the darkest death camp at Ravensbruck, during one of the worst times of the day, God sent a bird.
“Once, while we were on a roll call, a cruel guard kept us standing for a long, long time. Suddenly, a skylark began to sing in the sky, and all the prisoners looked up to listen to that bird’s song. As I looked at the bird, I saw the sky and thought of Psalms 103:11. O love of God, how deep and great; far deeper than man’s deepest hate. God sent that skylark daily for three weeks, exactly during roll call, to turn our eyes away from the cruelty of man to the oceans of His love.”
Corrie Ten Boom
In this spring season, with so many lovely birds returning to us here in the north, I pray that you are able to pause, look and consider how great God is, how majestic is his creation and how steadfast is his love toward us.
I believe leading our children to find delight in the arrival of these birds glorifies God, builds character and is one of the best educations we can give them! So yes, for home educators, bird watching IS school right now!
So far we have welcomed back:
The Yellow Warbler
The Yellow Rumped Warbler
The Chipping Sparrow (one of my favourites - they’re so tiny and adorable!)
The White Crowned Sparrow
The White Throated Sparrow
And of course the American Robin
I’ve noticed a dramatic increase in the number of vibrant House Finches
and in the number of Northern Flickers!
What birds have you seen? I’d love to hear what you catch a glimpse of! I’m still awaiting the arrival of some of my travellers who are just passing through like the Rose Breasted Grosbeak and the Baltimore Oriole!
Have a blessed week!
Love,
Monica
We like to bird watch out our dining room windows during supper, this week we’ve had thousands of snow geese enjoying spilled grain in the field close to our house, along with 10 sandhill cranes that spent the night. What a privilege to have migrating birds pass through! 😊