Lessons From a Bird Feeder

There is a verse in the Bible found in Matthew 6:26(NIV) that states "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?"

This is a picture right outside my kitchen window. It is a gathering place for squirrels, birds and rabbits (do you see the rabbit on the ground?). There is another finch feeder just out of the picture along with a bird feeder in the front yard just outside the picture window. It really is a cool thing to have by the window while sitting down to enjoy a meal. My kids (3 and 4) love all of the different birds and critters that come. Interestingly enough though is how fast the bird feeder can run out of food. At any given time there will be upwards of 10 birds feeding off the ground or from the feeder. What happens when the food runs out though?

There comes a point (usually on Thursday or Friday) that I have to put on my boots and walk out to the feeders in order to reload them. This afternoon something quite interesting happened. I had a cardinal and a finch swooping down on my head while I was giving them their food. It literally got to the point where I said "you dumb chickens! Don't you know what I am doing for you!?" It was at that moment it hit me like a ton of bricks. A new lesson to be learned in this old scripture verse.

You see, I think the birds would have much rather had the food magically appear. Why? Because it would not upset them. It would mean they could carry on like always without having to take a risk. In their little bird brains they see a guy coming and taking down their feeder and equate it to the idea their food source is gone. Much to their surprise, I am quite confident they are happy to see their feeders go back up with an abundance of food with even more in the garage when needed. They didn't have to ask or beg for it...I simply saw it was out and reloaded it.

Our heavenly Father knows exactly what we need and when we need it. Does this come from a lifestyle of begging and only talking to him when in need? Probably not. It comes from having an ongoing relationship with him. We may see blessings come in different ways that we are not used to and this may cause us to panic. Perhaps we may even swoop down because we do not know what is going on. Thankfully God never says "YOU DUMB CHICKENS! DON'T YOU KNOW WHAT I AM DOING FOR YOU!?" Rather he sees our humanity and still gives us what we need. The beauty of it? Just like this gathering ground for the birds, squirrels, bunnies, etc. all are welcome into this relationship...ALL!