Saturday, July 14, 2012

About the Birds

I find my new interest with these creatures to say the least, remarkable. I have always appreciated the beauty of flight, and who hasn't dreamed of being a bird as a child.  I loved birds then, playing with all the chicks at my grandparent's home, collecting eggs, etc. I loved in particular one sweet and very large rooster, given to me as a birthday present.  A story, we'll leave this for another time.

I don't remember when my fear of birds began, perhaps that iconic Hitchcock movie. He was brilliant! It wasn't the attack scenes that were the most horrifying to me, but the waiting, the birds sitting there, staring at you...it seemed...plotting.

I have a newfound respect for the variations of color,  the chirps, sounds, songs, their beauty and of course the lack of worry.  Birds don't worry, ever thought of this?  They go through their day, seeking food, water and company.  They fly in the sky, enjoy the breezes and the sun and finding their needs met for the day, rest and find shelter.  God provides.  So if the sweetest and one of the smallest of God's creatures knows this lesson so well, why do many struggle so much. Anxiety is prevalent throughout many societies, especially in this one.  Consider...

"Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?"  Matthew 6.26-27

Worrying cannot add life, but it sure can take away. It's summertime, the time when we are supposed to be more carefree, take life slower, stop and enjoy like the birds. But it is summertime and the food pantries are all struggling, budgets and funding are cut, donations are low. The birds can find things to eat, but the people?  God provides, He provided us to take care of each other.  Consider in the midst of enjoying the beauty of summer, the beauty of the birds and the sounds, stopping off and adding to the shelves of your local food pantry.  Let's help someone else feel the freedom like a bird, and be without worry.

Click here to find a foodbank near you, and find other ways to help.

No comments: