Bluebirds

We had a pair of bluebirds in one of our backyard bird houses....and then we didn't.

About two weeks ago, I saw a house sparrow going into the bluebirds' house and I decided to investigate.

I discovered broken bluebird eggs (with dead baby birds still in them) around the bottom of the birdhouse.  I was sad, but was also quite concerned that the female had been killed in the house sparrow attack.  We did take care of the sparrow, by the way.

A week or so ago, I saw the female bluebird in our backyard again.  Yay!  We had seen the male bluebird flitting about here and there, but not the female for a bit.

This evening, I was sitting on my front porch steps and I saw the male bluebird fly up to the front yard birdhouse.  I was thrilled!!  They're back!  Maybe there will be a new nest and new eggs and new babies!!

I wondered why I was so excited about some silly birds.  Here's why.  Because they didn't give up.  Because they weren't beaten by that awful house sparrow.  Because it reminds me that God redeems situations that I can't see a way out of.  Because it reminds me that God isn't finished with me, no matter what mess I've gotten myself into.  Because it reminds me that God sticks with it....sticks with ME.

"being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus."  -Philippians 1:6

"Be strong and courageous.  Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you."  -Deuteronomy 31:6

Voices in My Head

I don't know about you, but my brain is ALWAYS on.  Well, except when I'm sleeping....I think.  I had a conversation about this with my oldest son (he's 15).  I asked him what he was thinking about.  "Nothing."  "Nothing?  How is that even possible?  I ALWAYS have something talking in my head!"  He tried to explain how to think of nothing:  "just think of black...just black...and then that's nothing."

Nope....

Here's my reply:  "Do you mean black like someone colored it black or black meaning an absence of light?  And if it's been colored black, is it crayons?  Pencils?  Markers?  Paint?  Oil or watercolor?  Maybe it's black fabric blocking out the light?  Velvet?  Taffeta?  Jersey?"

He rolled his eyes.  "MOM!  Stop!  Fine...just think...blue."

"What color blue?  Robin's egg?  Sky?  Aqua?"

I think he jumped out of the car at that point....I don't know, as I was still considering all the different "blue" options I had.  I'm telling you, my brain is always going - even when I want silence.  Most of the time, it's a song playing in there.  When I try to pray, there's a song.  When I'm sitting quietly, there's a song.  When I try to read my bible, there's a song.  When I watch the birds, there's a song.  I have always thought that I needed that "noise" to shut up so I could think.

Turns out I was wrong.

Over the last couple of weeks, that internal song/voice just stopped.  I don't know what happened, but it wasn't there.  I wasn't hearing, "in the middle of the storm, I'll be holding on, I am...holding on to you...." or "how great is our God, sing with me how great is our God."  And I will tell you those were the worst two weeks I think I've ever had.  I've gone through some pretty dark times in my life, but since I've become a Christian, I have NEVER doubted the way I did the past two weeks.

Saturday, the songs came back.  I don't know where they went and I don't know why, but I am not going to complain about them again.  I think they are my shield of faith.  I can't hear all the mean things the enemy is shooting at me because I have a song (based on verses) singing in my head.  I can see how Saul was soothed by David singing psalms with his harp.  I bet he was hearing the enemy and David sang truth.

1 Samuel 16:23 - Whenever the spirit from God came upon Saul, David would take his harp and play.  Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better, and the evil spirit would leave him.

Where we should not be

2 Samuel 11:1  - In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David....remained in Jerusalem.

I have heard this verse preached several times in church, always talking about how David was where he should not have been, and as a result, he sinned with Bathsheba.  This point was brought home yesterday as I watched a beautiful Sandhill Crane in our neighbors' yard.  

We had just finished dinner, and I was cleaning up in the kitchen, when I heard some yelling from the dining room.  At first I ignored it, since I figured it was sibling squabbles (and hubby was in there), but then I heard, "Mom!  MOM!!"  I ran in, expecting something bad to have happened, but I was told there was a "rare crane" in the neighbors' yard.  I, of course, thought "crane" as in "machine" and wondered how it could be rare, then looked out the window to see what everyone else was seeing.

Wow!  That was cool!  A crane...not a heron...not an egret!  I grabbed my camera and ran outside to see how close I could get.  Pretty close!  The thing was NOT afraid of me at all.  We did some investigating and discovered it was a Sandhill Crane...and he (she?) was lost.  As you can see by the map, there is no reason for it to be here.  My thought is that it was blown off course in some of the recent  storms, but that is sheer conjecture.

As I was watching this amazing creature, I started to feel a bit sorry for it.  Yes, I know it's just a bird and that God has gifted it with amazing abilities to cope in challenging situations, but it struck me that it was lost and not where he should be.  Because of his situation, he was without the protection that a group of cranes provides as he hunted for food, looked for a roosting place for the night, or tried to keep watch for predators.  He was without the opportunity for a mate.  Because he was not where he should be, there was probably going to be some sort of trouble - or at least, a much higher likelihood of trouble.  There was a rocking thunderstorm last night.  I am hopeful he was able to withstand the storm.

That's me.  I try to stay away from PLACES I should not be, but controlling my thoughts and emotions from going where they should not be, well, that's often a more difficult challenge.  And when the storm comes, those thoughts and emotions are exposed, without the protection of accountability, without the safety of being under God's wing.

I am thankful for the opportunity to see such an amazing bird, and I am thankful that God reminds me, ever so gently, of my human frailty and His awesome power.