We have had two pleasant additions to our family this weekend. However, before I get around to introducing them, I have yet another story to share. And it begins a little something like this...
I have always had a fondness for little birds. Wrens and sparrows and chickadees and whatnot. Maybe it has to do with the Bible verse (Matthew 10:29-31) that says "29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny ? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. 30 And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." Maybe it has to do with Civilla Martin's old traditional hymn, His Eye is On the Sparrow. Maybe it has to do with the fact that visits to my Great-Grandma Jones' house during my growing up years meant getting to see the numerous birdhouses and bird feeders she had surrounding her home and the multitude of birds that visited them. Maybe it has to do with spring and how once the air warms enough, I leave my windows open 24/7 just so I can hear the melodious bird chirps from the moment I awake in the morning until the sun sets that night. Maybe it has to do with how easily Mary Poppins got that darling little bird to perch on her finger and sing. I don't know. And frankly, it really doesn't matter.
But what does matter is how God has used these little creatures to teach me an invaluable lesson this past year. (Isn't it funny how God can use what seems to be the most ordinary of things to reach our hearts in such remarkable ways? Yeah. I've come to the conclusion He is just AWESOME like that!) Anyway, a few months ago, I was struggling with a number of situations and issues that were weighing heavy on my heart and my mind. I tend to worry and emotionally take on more problems than I probably should, but I also believe in a God who is more than capable of handling whatever we throw at Him. And when I find myself struggling with what life has thrown at me and the ones I love, I try to spend some extra time in quiet conversation with God, surrounding myself with His Words. On this particular night, the worrying had manifested in absolute sleeplessness. Despite enjoying the soft, quiet breeze blowing through my open windows, I couldn't sleep. After spending time in Scripture and prayer and finally turning on some random television movie, I continued to struggle. As the hour passed 4am, I was also exhausted but still unable to find peace or sleep. As I lay in bed, surround by darkness, I heard something.
The birds -who up until this point had only chirped or tweeted periodically through the night - broke out into a beautiful chorus, with some singing a high-pitched, continuous melody and others singing softer, lower-pitched twitters. Together, they blended into a beautiful chorus filling the quiet of the pre-dawn hour. As I listened, something occurred to me.
They were singing.
The sky was still velvety black and the world was still cloaked in darkness, but the birds were singing. They were singing more beautifully than I have ever heard them sing in the daylight.
And then I heard something else. Someone else.
The still, sweet, precious voice of God. "Don't you see? Their surroundings are dark, the sky has not yet taken on the first faint hues of dawn, but still they sing. They are doing what comes most naturally; praising their Creator. They are singing praises for the promises that have yet to be fulfilled, for the dawn and the sunlight they know is coming but cannot yet see. Their songs are born out of faith, out of trust, out of hope."
If these beautiful little creatures could accept the promise of dawn as they sit in the dark of night, and still manage to sing, surely I can trust the goodness of a Loving Father even in times of difficulty.
And I will do it singing.
Which brings me to our two newest additions, Lou-Lou and Spot. They are two Parakeets. Lou-Lou is a green and yellow, male parakeet and is the result of Peanut's 1 1/2 year petition to get a green bird named Lou-Lou. Spot is a periwinkle-blue, female parakeet, the result of Little Bear's 24-hour petition that it was not quite fair that Peanut now had a bird and he did not. The two little feathered friends are still in the process of settling in to their new surroundings, so they have not done much in the way of singing. However, every time they chirp or tweet, it is, for me, a sweet reminder that the peace of God can come in the midst of our struggles, that the light of hope is present even in the depths of darkness and our God is a good and loving Father.
