Jimmys Renderings 5-25-14 It was fairly late in the evening when I received a call from a friend who asked what I was doing. Roxann was out of town, and I had just come home from a very, very challenging day. His family was out of town also; he was going somewhere and asked if I wanted to go. I said, “Yes;” and we went. It was such a beautiful evening that, before I returned home, he and I sat in the back yard at his place, talked, enjoyed the perfect temperature and just chilled a bit. I needed that. I was not looking forward to trying to find something to watch on television as I decompressed from the day. We shared one of those serendipitous moments. While we were sitting in the yard, he pointed to his back porch and said he had just done the spring cleaning thing to prepare the porch for spring and summer use. He said, Let me tell you the neatest story. While I was cleaning the porch, I discovered that a bird had made a nest in the rafters. I realized there was at least one small bird in the nest when it dropped onto the floor. Our dog started messing with the bird; so I took it away from him, closed the porch doors and kept the dog away from the fledging. Soon another bird dropped out, then another and another, for a total of four little birds. I saw that the mother bird was sitting on a branch outside the porch. It was then I learned how she had come in to make her nest: there is a tiny hole in the screen at the bottom. She watched her babies on the porch from outside; then she flew off, picked up a worm or insect, brought it to the hole and poked it through the hole to feed her little birds. My buddy said, It was so cool to see this at Mother’s Day . . . how the mother bird took care of her babies and all . . . so appropriate. I agreed and was pretty impressed with the observation. I went home feeling refreshed from good conversation and an awesome night—one of those perfect spring nights with stars, great temperature and all. I breathed a prayer of gratitude for the unexpected break in the day and the conversation with a friend. His story, however, kept coming to my mind. The more I thought about it, the more I thought of the day and the conversation and the unexpected break. That was it! I always tell others how much God watches over us. I encourage them to pay attention to the little things God does for us . . . just because He loves us and knows what we need. Amazing! The mother bird watched and knew what her little birds needed, and she responded to something that seemed frantic—the birds falling from the nest onto the floor of the porch with a dog having messed with one of them—as if all were normal. The quiet evening and beautiful sky provided for me an oasis at the end of a hectic day; and God gave it to me through a friend. That gift and those moments changed everything and bathed the day with peace. I should have expected it. Psalm 84:3 says, Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young— a place near your altar, Lord Almighty, my King and my God. Jesus told us, Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. The songwriter was right: His eye IS on the sparrow, and I know He watches me. That is so cool! I DID know it, but it is sure neat to see it in such a graphic way. God uses others in all of our lives to offer His gifts. You can expect it! Your Pastor, Jimmy
Posted on: Mon, 19 May 2014 20:35:51 +0000
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