Practicing P-a-t-i-e-n-c-e

My new neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Swallow are still busy nesting. Mrs. Swallow is in and out of the birdhouse. Mr. Swallow continues as a vigilant watcher and helper to his wife. By now we are certain they have some young ones. Yet the smallest family members are very quiet. It is only Mr. and Mrs. Swallow who decide to chirp every now and again.

I marvel at how baby birds can be so quiet—nothing like their human counterparts. We have a new baby in our family circle. With loud vocalization he does not hesitate to let his mama know when he feels a need for her attention and services. When he wails, anyone holding him quickly responds by returning him to her. Mothers gladly take their crying infants and comfort them. Human babies are loud and demanding.

I tried again to peep into the birdhouse today. It was swaying in the breeze, so I steadied it with my hand. As I brought my face closer to the circular door to take a peak inside, Mrs. Swallow suddenly flew out. She startled me so that I nearly toppled over!

My desire to see her little ones is great but far too threatening for her. So I guess I’ll have to be patient and wait. The little ones will grow and venture out soon enough. Watch and wait is my new motto. Yet waiting is not what I’d like to do. I am far too curious.

Watching and waiting has a familiar ring. Isn’t that what we are told to do as we consider the return of Jesus Christ? An angel told the disciples that Jesus would come again, in the same manner they saw Him ascend into heaven. (Acts 1:11) Watch and wait.

Waiting on our little bird family creates another opportunity to practice the task of observant watching and patient waiting. I’ve not done too badly at observation, but my, how I need to practice the patience of waiting. How about you?

“…we wait for the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,…” Titus 2:13

White: New Life in 
the Birdhouse     

Something on the ground piqued my curiosity. Lots of things are there: dirt, pebbles, sticks, dead flower peddles, and such, but not usually white things. I bent down to examine it. Small and curved at one end, I could see it was half a tiny eggshell. It was near the birdhouse. That meant only one thing…baby birds!

I was so excited. I called my husband to come and see. He thought it was nice, but didn’t display quite the passionate joy I experienced. For me, all the birds are such fun to watch; and babies, well that’s just over the top wonderful.

I found a new bird book at Costco. I looked up swallows and found that our birdhouse residents belong to the family called tree swallows. They are not barn swallows as I had previously thought. Their back and wing feathers are a deep iridescent blue-green and their tails are shorter than those of barn swallows. They also have a snow-white breast and they lay white eggs.

Usually the males are more colorful. The bird book said females are slightly duller in color, but Mr. and Mrs. Swallow seem equally colorful to my untrained eye. I’ve noted more comings and goings lately. But it’s becoming harder to know who is coming and who is going. They flit about in and out so quickly.

The bird book also said they liked to eat flying bugs. It told how papa swallow would feed mama while she incubates her eggs. So if incubation is over, then maybe they both need to be out hunting flying bugs to feed their hungry brood. It all makes sense when you realize they have four to seven babies to supply.

The birdhouse hangs on a chain and gently rocks when there is a breeze. I wonder if rocking is as soothing to little birds as rocking is to little people? I ventured as close as I dared trying to listen for baby bird sounds after I found the eggshell. But it seemed awfully quiet inside the birdhouse. Maybe baby birds don’t cry like baby humans do when they’re hungry. I hope we’ll soon catch a glimpse of these tiny additions.

My experience with the swallows makes me think about new life in Jesus Christ. When I was a teenager, I realized my need for His saving grace. That was a long time ago, but I will never forget the peaceful feeling I had when I finally yielded my heart to Jesus. I knew He had forgiven my wrongs and accepted me into his family. It changed my life. Without a doubt I knew I’d done the right thing, and I’ve never regretted it. In that moment I was born again. I became a baby Christian. And those who knew rejoiced with me. New life…it’s a wonderful thing!

“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of man, but of God.”  (John 1:12-13)

The Guardian

Be aware -- Mr. Swallow is on guard! I mentioned my new neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Swallow, a couple of blogs back. They’re working together to hatch a little clutch of eggs.

I haven’t actually seen their eggs. The circular door to their birdhouse is small and the interior so dark, I can’t see inside. However, they are far too vigilant to allow me to think of anything else but that they are nesting a potential family.

Their cozy house is at the end of three-foot horizontal pole high above the azaleas. The other end holds the bird feeder. Many birds of various kinds come around quite often for a snack. Mr. Swallow tolerates them as long as they don’t get too close to the birdhouse. If they do, he’s quick to chase them away. He’s a dedicated mate, father-to-be, and protector of his family.

Mrs. Swallow appears at the doorway every so often. She pokes her head out, and stays a while just looking around. Like all dedicated mothers, she needs an occasional change of scenery. Once in a while she will take off for a short flight, then return and disappear inside her home. No doubt her warm body and fluffy wings keep her eggs snug and incubated. Mr. Swallow stays outside either on the pole above or on the birdhouse roof as faithful guardian.

Watching the continuous vigilance of my feathered neighbors, I am reminded to be thankful that my Heavenly Father is the same. He constantly watches over His family with love and protection. Nothing escapes His view; nothing is allowed that is not within His will. Even the difficulties we perceive become pathways toward growth and good under His care.

Are you part of His family? God faithfully guards those who belong to Him.

“How precious is your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.” (Psalm 36:7)

Black on Black

A subtle quick movement caught my eye. Something was there that shouldn’t be! I reacted. Picking up the black cover containing my Bible by its handle on the opposite side of the movement, I shook it hard. A small black spider fell to the floor…and to a fast demise under my shoe.

Black on black is hard to spot. I shudder to think that spider could have been right in my lap had my eye not caught its tiny movement. (Thank you, Lord!) He tried hard to hide by blending in and getting out of sight. But I spotted him. He preferred darkness and secrecy to light and notice.

I don’t like spiders. Any spider entering my home does it at the risk of his own life. Inside the house is my domain, and outside is theirs. A spider is an interesting creature to watch…outside. They make lovely webs and catch a variety of annoying bugs. But inside, they become frightening creatures to eliminate on sight, no matter how small.

As spring approaches and doors and windows are opened to the warm balmy air, more of these little black spiders will find their way into my home. I wish I could put up a sign that says, “keep out” or “danger” or anything that would detour them from entering the house. Killing them is nothing I find pleasurable. But sadly, spiders don’t read. So far, no effective way to keep them out seems to exist.

After a spider encounter, I always spend the next half hour hyper-aware of another possible presence. My son-in-law gleefully informed me that statistics say there’s always a spider within three feet of you. I’m still annoyed by the twinkle in his eye as he proclaimed this bit of knowledge. It makes me cringe to even think of it. My only consolation is that spiders like to hide, which means they don’t care to be around me anymore than I care to be around them.

Spiders remind me of how the Bible shows us the difference between hiding in darkness and living in the light. Jesus is the way we can come out of the darkness of sin and into the light, clean and bright. Unlike spiders, we are welcomed into his home and family when we come. As we follow Jesus, we can walk unencumbered by darkness. Are you following Him?

Jesus said, “I am the Light of the world. He who follows Me will not be walking in the dark, but will have the Light which is Life.” (John 8:12)

The Joy of New Neighbors
 

We have some new neighbors. I’m excited. I haven’t formally met them yet, but we’ve had some friendly acknowledgement from a distance. I hope we can become friends before long.

There’s nothing like moving into a new house. A few things have had to be changed to make their home fit them just right. I noticed that they jumped right in and did the work enthusiastically. Now they seem happy and fairly settled into their new home.

My new neighbors are expecting soon. Nothing has been said, but well, it seems pretty obvious. I’ve seen no other children, so they are probably first time parents. New home, new baby. What could be more exciting!

I watch them sometimes as they come and go when I’m in my kitchen. The kitchen window gives me the best view of these new neighbors and their comings and goings. I’m not really a nosey neighbor, but they just seem to be actively doing things outside when I happen to be doing dishes or preparing a meal. Its fun to watch them. They chat and tease back and forth. They seem very committed to one another.

I’m not sure when their baby is due, but I’m sure I’ll know when the time comes. Babies are such fun and so precious and cute. It will be nice to have a new little one in the neighborhood.

Oh…did I forget to mention? My new neighbors are a couple of swallows. We hung a birdhouse outside for the first time this year, and Wa-la almost instantly we had new neighbors! They're quite entertaining. I’ll keep you posted on the little family and the new addition(s) when they arrive.

    "Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?"  Matthew 6:26 (ESV)

A Book Review

The Turning by Davis Bunn, is a new novel, just out this month. Published by Moody, it is 292 pages in length.

The book opens with Trent Cooper, a man who desires to climb to the top of the Mundrose corporate ladder. He wants to be in the inner circle where he can be in charge and make things happen…whatever it takes. And he has what he considers a winning idea.

John Jacobs, a Christian family man and the assistant manager of a trucking company, is at church on Sunday when something happens…he hears God speak to him. “Take the turning…and walk the unlikely road.” John is not the only one who hears God’s voice that Sunday. Five Christians with their own unique stories get the same message. Five lives are drawn together to experience a challenge that threatens personal loss and difficulty.

Each person knows God has spoken, but they find themselves unsure what to do with the call. Step-by-step God unifies their thinking and reveals His purpose as they follow Him. Together they are emboldened to fight against an evil ideology that steals hope. As they obey, prayer support comes. It’s not a likely road nor an easy battle, but strength appears at every turn.

The story challenges us to realize that as Christians we must not sit back in silence when evil is afoot. God may call us to stand strong against a specific evil in our community or nation. We need to be ready with prayer, and obedience to our Lord. God works through the hands and feet, and words of his people. He becomes their strength giving them direction as they obey Him and peace in the midst of trouble.

I’d definitely recommend The Turning as a good read for Christian folk seeking to follow the Lord.

I liked the short chapters; these helped me when I had small spurts of reading time. Several distracting editorial errors appeared in chapter 12, as well as a few later. But once I got into the story, error ceased to distract as interest in the content held my attention.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher for my honest review. While this book is one I might not have chosen this book on my own, I’m glad I had the opportunity to read it. I plan to read more by Davis Bunn.

Reminiscing about...  

The Secret

              My attention roused, I scooted to the edge of the seat listening closely. This missionary speaker promised to reveal a secret that I wanted to know. I longed for a closer relationship with my Savior. Now, before me was a man whose words indicated he had the answer.

“I’m going to tell you ‘the secret’ of the Christian life,” he said. That’s exactly what I wanted to know! But his next words stunned me!

“Read the Bible and pray,” he said with absolute confidence.

“Read the Bible and pray?” My mind repeated his words. “Is that the secret…is that all? I already know that! But am I doing it?

He went on to explain that it’s not easy to make Bible reading and prayer a daily priority. Yet, that’s what it takes to have a close abiding relationship with Christ. As we do this, we find that we not only learn about God, but we understand Him and His purposes better. We begin sensing His nearness. Our praying ceases to be only a list of concerns and shallow blessings, and becomes a conversation with a trusted friend. But it must be done intentionally.

As a young mom with small children something more in my busy schedule felt daunting. Yet I wanted a relationship with the Lord that was close and personal.

“Lord,” I prayed “help me to make my relationship with you a priority. Help me read your Word and pray consistently with an open heart.”

              How is your relationship with the Lord? Do you need to apply “the secret” as I did? It’s never too late to start reading the Bible and praying regularly. Choosing to draw close in relationship to Him is what life is all about.

“Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you.” (James 4:8 NKJV)