Look at the Birds: Really, LOOK at Them

Last week my girls and I visited my mom’s house in the foothills. It was something I had wanted to do for a long time – to spend a day away from routine, noise, and city lights. But sometimes the worries don’t stay at home.

One of my favorite parts of being at my mom’s house in the summer are the many hummingbirds that come to the feeders she sets out for them. We had a nice dinner together and then set our stuff outside on top of her garage roof for a night under the stars. God gave us a beautiful sunset, and despite a few clouds in the darkening sky, we were able to find several constellations. My girls and I feel asleep under the stars shortly before 11:00 p.m. I woke up several times – but it was peaceful to wake up and fall asleep to such beauty.  In the morning I woke to see two deer across the fields grazing. A perfect start to the day.

Later in the morning as I went out by myself to clean up the sleeping bags, the “shoulds” of life began nagging at me.  Should I have come when I didn’t get as many hours of work done as I had wanted that week? Should I have stayed home to work instead? Should I have planned a night of sleep that I would need to recover from during the already busy upcoming weekend?

As these thoughts came to mind I began to talk to God about them. After a few minutes of me whining to God, it occurred to me that I should ask what He thought. Immediately He brought to mind Matthew 6:26:

“LOOK at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?”

I was seeing the humming-birds of the air, but I wasn’t really looking.

I went to the edge of the garage roof where I could literally look down to where the hummingbirds were zooming around, fighting, playing, and eating. As I looked, it occurred to me that God had ordained for these birds to be fed by my mother.

In the same way, God has ordained for me to be nourished, fed, and taken care of. Being in the beauty of God’s creation gives me energy and strength. Though I may not have slept as well as I could have at home, it was a refreshing time for my soul. Though I didn’t work while we were away, I was able to use some vacation time. In the scheme of things, a few lost hours is not going to break us financially.

My soul was troubled because of where I was looking: at my circumstances, my limited resources, my weariness. But when I look to God I remember how He has provided in the past, I relax in His care for the present, and I learn to rely on His provision for the future.

I will lift up my eyes to the mountains;
From where shall my help come?

My help comes from the LORD,
Who made heaven and earth.

Psalm 121:1-2