As Monica mentioned a few posts ago, we were given a bird feeder for Mother’s Day and have planted it in the landscaping at the end of our porch. And as she said, I’m quite fond of it. I love to watch them and listen to them sing. I’ve counted at least seven different kinds of birds snacking out there, and it’s amazing how quickly they go through seed.
I recently filled the feeder halfway and had hardly stepped out of the landscaping before a few finches came in for a morning snack. Periodically throughout the day I peeked through the window to see one or two birds feeding at a time. Later I went to run an errand and checked on the feeder again. To my surprise about a quarter of the food was gone! By the time I got back from my errand I expected to see feathered pigs flying about—the feeder was nearly empty! I thought, “Man, I can’t keep filling this thing everyday like this. You little pigs will have to wait a week.”
Then I noticed how much seed was on the ground. Those little pigs had spilled seed everywhere. “Go ahead and waste it. You’re still going to have to wait until next week for a refill,” I thought. A little while later on my way to the kitchen I was surprised to see a handful of different birds all feeding at the same time. A few were on the feeder and several more were on the ground—morning doves, redwing blackbirds, robins and finches. There were probably six or seven of them. I stood there watching them hop and flit around pecking at the seed on the ground for nearly ten minutes before I felt God tapping me on the shoulder.
I had originally been frustrated by the birds spilling seed everywhere. They were abusing the feeder, they were eating too fast and making a mess. But when I saw all those birds on the ground I realized how awesome it was that I could admire all six or seven of them at once instead of just one or two that fit on the feeder. What seemed like a shame or a mess was actually a blessing.
God used that illustration to to get my attention regarding my life right now. With all that’s happened lately it’s so easy to focus only on the negative. The bird feeder incident reminded me that there are positives even when things look hopeless and that despite what things look like, God knows what He’s doing. That doesn’t mean I have to understand everything, just that I need to remember who’s in control. It makes me think: How many other times has God tried showing me something through simple actions or examples? Lately, I’ve been keeping my eyes open for God’s voice. You never know how it’ll sound or what it’ll look like.
