(Sorry Jeannie... this post might be too much. Forgive me, I adore you... we just differ on birds)
What a glorious morning! I am a morning person for sure. I typically wake up before my alarm, but today a choir of birds singing wooed me from my sleep with glorious song sung in nature's harmonies. Perhaps, they were calling to the sun to climb a little higher in the sky. Maybe, they just felt like singing.
There is a reason Jesus pointed us to the birds to remind us that there is no need to be anxious or work. They always find a song, they sing of His splendor and ... what they have is enough.
When the kids were little, a morning dove built her nest outside our door. A dove's coo is full and full of affectionate sounds. The kids... and the neighborhood kids... watched the eggs day after day, as the mother dove sat patiently waiting. In time... they did hatch. New life was born in a humble nest. She didn't worry. She just persisted with patience through the elements and... the "neighborhood watch".
She was never tame, for she was a creature of the wild, but she tolerated are presence and was grateful we didn't hurt her nest she had so carefully prepared at our front door. I can't remember if it was two or three eggs, but I know at least two hatched, lived and found their way to life with wings.
It is May. Mother's Day has passed. Graduation in our little village as last weekend, but the celebrations continue. A wedding is just 11 days away for our oldest son and his bride. Our baby is living and working away from home this summer in an apartment.
Oh May! If it doesn't break the budget, May has the potential to break our hearts as we find our roles changing again and again... in the blink of an eye. But, that is life. We were born to live in relationships and learn from them the magnitude and depth of our Father's love for us.
God's love becomes less mysterious as we learn to love a child without reservations or another human being without conditions. It becomes more clear as we watch our children grow up and fly on their own wings, and take our aging parents by wrinkled hands. This life is temporary, but each day we have a song to sing.
Two of my best friends have lost parents this month. One funeral I could attend, another was too far away. Each one reflected a life well lived in Christ and for Christ. Merrick and Ina Mae were like Paul and Lydia as was testified in their eulogies. They were salt and light for all of their days on this planet. They have left this earth's gravity and been in the presence of God. They have heard angels sing. What a glorious day for them.
Where did the birds learn their song? Perhaps, it was from the angels. I know it is glorious, even when one joins in off key. If you ever sang next to my Dad, you know why they invented the phrase, "couldn't carry a tune in a bucket". He loved that Mama was musical, bought her a wickedly cool home organ, better than some churches owned, and her music teaching could never really pay for it, as she charged so little for lessons. It was an act of love from his heart and it touched her soul.
Several verses have been floating around in my head this morning. All were good. None were perfect. So I prayed as I went to the word. Guess who is strutting his stuff this morning and reminding me he is with me? Here is His "Verse of the Day":
The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. -Zephaniah 3:17
Perfect, right?
(Jeannie... those birds are singing his love for you. I know you wish they could wait until after 10am.)
Today, I am grateful to wake to bird songs.
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