I enjoy living in a part of the country where I get to experiences all four seasons. However, I would enjoy it a lot more if here in Southwestern, Pa., the clouds would give way to more sun. But for the most part, we experience a mild winter, pleasant spring, warm summers, and a beautiful refreshing fall.
Although every season brings something special, I would like to focus on the season we are in right now, spring. By the time winter is ending, I am really tired of seeing the season’s two most dominant colors gray and brown. The gray sky, brown trees, and the early end of daylight, begins to weigh on my emotions.
However, there is light at the end of the tunnel, and not too long after I begin feeling down the first sign of spring appears. As the tips of the trees begin to turn a slight reddish color, I am able to breathe a sigh of relief, and with that new hope emerges.
The spring season usually starts off a little slow but when things take bloom, it rarely disappoints. The Bible says In Ecclesiastes 3:1; ”For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven.”
Spring not only blesses me with feelings of new hope and a symbol of second chances, it also brings forth new life. My husband and I experienced it up close this year through neighboring birds. Obviously, we’ve always had birds in our yard, but never at this capacity.
It seems, ever since the first time the Lord used a bird to bring me comfort in my time of worry back in March, (April 7, 2020 blog titled, “Faithful”) He continue to use them to speak, to both my husband and I.
In years past, I would regularly feed the birds, until my husband asked me to stop. He said “they were dirty and it was unhealthy,” (even though we have a pet bird named “Rocky“). However, I respected his wishes and only fed them occasionally. But now that the Lord used birds to minister to us, my husband has taken a different view, and liking to them. You will find now he is the one filling up the feeder when their food runs low.
So far this year, we watched a Robin build a nest above our back door that leads to our deck. At the same time the Robin was laying her eggs, a Black Bird entered through an opening on the outside of our chimney, and made her home in our attic. A couple of times a week the mother Black Bird would come down from the attic and get locked in our garage and we would have to let her out through the garage door.
It was a beautiful experience watching them grow and leave the nest one by one, but the experience wasn’t over yet. This past week we watched the second batch of eggs hatch in the same nest over the back door. Also, in a wreath hanging on my front door another Robin laid 4 more eggs that also hatched. It’s been quite the experience, and privilege, to have nature invite us into it’s world the way it has.
I am in awe that the God of the universe takes time to communicate with me in a way that I can understand. He is aware of the love I have, and the enjoyment I get from observing nature, so He uses it to speak to my heart. My feelings are like those of the Psalmist when he wrote in Psalm 8:4; “What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?”
My husband and I sit on our deck and observe the care the Mother and Father Birds give their chicks. It’s approximately 9 to 16 days of constant caring, feeding, and protecting, until the babies leave the nest. Even then the parents stay near for an additional 14 days to teach them how to find food.
Unlike the mother and father bird, God never leaves us, and He always longs to give us constant care. Psalm 91:4 describes God’s desire to care for us like this; “He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.”
I pray you will feel the God of all creation in a personal way today, and know that He longs for you to take refuge in Him.
