Two Little Birds

      I had a pretty good day on Friday, but it was only good for one reason. I'm sure you will know what I am talking about when you read to the end.

Two Little Birds

      What a beautiful day today is. Thinly overcast with a warm steady breeze with temperatures in the mid-eighties. What a cure for what ails you. I was sitting in the house, kind of gloomy, not feeling bad or ill in any way. I just seemed to have had my own dark day going on in my own house. I tried turning on the lights because I have heard, and experienced, that that little trick does sometimes help with a case of the doldrums.

     Well, unfortunately, it didn’t work for me on this day. What I should have done right then and there, was to pray for God to lift me out of this bog I was sinking in. Many times I can change my mood by reading the word of God or an article about the Lord and His plan for us.

     For I consider the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. Rom 8:18 NKJ

      But no, not this time, I was going to bring myself out of this gloom all by myself. That being resolved, I put on my shoes and socks and donned my floppy yard work hat and went outside. Instantly the gloom went away. Washed away by a warm breeze, the sound of a lawnmower being pushed around his yard by a neighbor just a few doors up from me. And, oh, the smell of fresh-cut grass that the warm breeze carried from my neighbor's yard and hit me right in the face, it was wonderful. I felt good. That convinced me, I was going to cut that long grass in my yard that should have been cut several days ago. I had noticed yesterday when I returned home from running an errand that the grass in my yard was much longer than I prefer to allow it to grow. Gassed up, oil checked, and the mower was ready for the mission at hand, bringing beauty back to my yard.

      Now mind you, I live in a cul-de-sac and have a walk-out basement so I have an almost pie shaped yard with a pretty steep slope on each side of my house. The backyard drops off to a small tree lined creek at the bottom of the hill. We don’t clean out between the trees but instead allow them to grow naturally. We frequently see deer cautiously moving from place to place in the search for food via our section of the creek. There are also four squirrel nests within easy view of our deck, I’m sure there are more if I would just take the time to search them out. The residents of those leafy nests often pay us a visit in the backyard while they feast on the birdseed scattered on the ground from the feeders hanging above from our deck. Anyway, off I went to conquer the dragon of long grass and steep slopes that surrounded my castle.

     A couple of trips up and down the longest and steepest side of our lawn and my breath was becoming labored. Two or three more trips and I was beginning to perspire and my breath had become more labored. A few more trips and I realized I was a sweaty, out of breath, out of shape dragon slayer. Time for a break.

     I sat on the patio outside the door to our basement and tried to calm my panting as I slowly sipped on a glass of water. Most people who know me, know that I have had some heart issues and as a result am very short winded. Some of that breathlessness is my fault, but that is for another time. So I sat there sipping on my water, sinking down into that gloom again as I compared myself to days gone by. Athletic, 60 lbs lighter and full of energy ready for just about anything, and willing to try most. Now I sit here with a bad heart and well, you know how it goes from there. Self-pity is ugly even when you are by yourself.

     The whole time I sat there I had been staring into the woods, not focusing on anything, there just wasn’t much else to look at from my vantage point. It’s early spring, and the trees were just starting to bud, but the colors from the tree bark was most apparent. There were dark browns, a lot of gray, some light tans, mostly dark contrasts. Not too much for me to get excited about.

     Then it started to happen, a beautiful red cardinal flew into view and perched on a branch right at the exposed edge of the woods. The red feathers on his body were bright and brilliant. The black of his mask had very defined edges and made a wonderful contrast to his red head and body. Soon the cardinal gave a squawk (or chirp or trill or whatever cardinals do) and flew off. Just at that moment a bird roughly the same size as the cardinal, maybe a little larger, floated in and landed a little to the left of where the cardinal had been. This bird was kind of long and streamlined and jet black with a bright orange stripe down his side. What a beautiful bird. The cardinal came back and landed a little deeper in the woods. He was a little harder to see, but I could see him.

     Looking at those two birds is when it happened. I started to think about God’s creation and how much beauty He put into it. I say I “started to think about it”, but it was more like I felt it before I thought about it. It just happened. God didn’t put us here in a gray, bland world but instead filled it with beauty for us to enjoy as we live our lives. In my little backyard, God sent two beautiful birds to capture my attention and lift my spirits as the Holy Spirit within said, “Hey, look at that. God did that for you! You could have died many times in your life. But your God kept you here to see those two birds, on this day, to remind you of who He is and that you are one of His”.

     “29Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin: And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. 30But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. 32Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. Mat 10:29-32 NKJ

     Problem resolved. I would like to say I jumped up and zipped around the house in record time mowing the rest of my yard. But no, I didn’t jump up, and I didn’t zipp as I finished mowing. There were several more breaks to catch my breath and allow my legs to recover a bit before resuming my chore. But my breaks, after that, were enjoyable as I purposefully looked around as I sat, consuming the beauty, the gift that was given to me to enjoy on this day.

     Our Lord gives us all that we need to live these lives He gave us. Sometimes the simplest things like a warm breeze carrying the smell of fresh-cut grass can change our entire outlook.

     Like two little birds.