For the Love of Birds!

They come. They go. Sometimes just one. Many times multiple visit at one time. All day they come and go. Come and go. Trusting the provision will be there. Birds. I am taking about birds but it goes so much deeper than that.

I recently put bird feeders in my window at work. Ones that stick to the window so I can see them up close. I have sparrows and one bluejay. There are crows and one cardinal. I love to see them and their beautiful feathers day after day. They come because they know there is food available. BUT sometimes there are issues.

I started out with just one feeder which only allowed one bird at a time to enjoy a meal. Sometimes two smaller sparrows could fit together. As the day wore on I witnessed so many things. Things that caused me to be frustrated.

Birds would come and eat in all different manners. Some were timid, took just enough and flew away. Others would fly in and bully their way to the perch causing the other bird to move out of the way. Then there were the hogs who wouldn’t share. The fighters came next and feathers would be a flurry of fighting in the air. Then there was the one bird who came and was very picky about what they wanted. This particular bird would stick its head in the seed and begin tossing what it didn’t like right out of the feeder.

By the end of the day I found myself frustrated. Those ungrateful birds. Not one Thank You. Not one sign of appreciation. All the bickering and fighting over the birdseed. The bullying. The pickiness. Here I was trying to be nice. Providing a service. Giving up my time and effort to offer a nice place to stop and get a quick bite to eat. I found myself everso unhappy with what I had done.

Then. Outta nowhere came this red breasted sparrow. He came not to partake in a feast. He chose not to sit on the perch. Instead he sat on top of the bird feeder. He looked right at me through the window and he started to sing. He sang the most beautiful song to me. As tears filled my eyes I saw for a moment what God saw.

We come knowing God provides. We push ourselves to the table. We bicker with those around us. We are choosey about what we partake of. We often are selfish. We are uncaring of others in need. We often come only to fulfill our own needs. We forget to be grateful. We miss the mark. We fail to realize God is in it at all.

What joy it brings to the Father when we just bring a song. A song of thankfulness. A song of praise. A small melody to show our appreciation. He loves us no matter what and longs for communion. He waits patiently to be noticed.