Spring Birds

I stepped outside my front door Monday morning to a mild spring day. The sky was a bit overcast, but the temperatures were pleasant and the prospects for a good day seemed to jump out and tap me on the shoulder. Loading stuff into my truck to go to work, I noticed a single robin sitting on the roof top of 333 West Monroe Ave. Standing in the driveway, I listened to the myriad of birds from the surrounding yards making their joyous music, God's free radio as I have often described it. Our avian friends obviously like spring time as much as we do.

Momma liked loved birds and because of her I am super aware of them all the time. I have always noticed them, somewhat, but her influence now forces me to see, listen, and look for our winged neighbors all the time, everywhere. She noticed birds. She pointed them out. She took photographs of them. She kept them in her house. My daddy died feeding Mom's birds when she was in the hospital.

Saturday morning I mowed the lawn. Before I finished, two robins swooped down, landed, and began to feed. They love a freshly cut yard and are always the first ones in it. Later in the day, I had one spot that was not cut because one of our vehicles had been parked there while I mowed. Penny and I moved my old truck to the back and on the return trip to the front, there were two starlings and a sparrow working the grass. I decided to forego the additional mowing to leave them be. I've become soft like that in my old age.

Monday morning, the robin on the roof glided down and started to hop, peck, and I presume to eat worms. They are such glorious birds, robins, and they always cause me to notice their beauty and the dignity God gave them. One of my church members once told me that "God was having a good day when He created trees." I'll adjust that to, God was having a great day when He created birds. They are the most available source of free beauty and music, of joy and simple pleasure that I am aware of. They are delicate, yet they survive the cold, the wind, the rain, the storms, the heat. Without jobs they build homes, feed themselves, and raise their families. 

The Bible even tells us as much:

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

The context is of God's care for humanity, and the speaker is Jesus. He is telling us to take comfort and faith by observing nature, by looking at what God put in front of us to teach us and delight us. "Because He lives we can face tomorrow." Because they live, we can enjoy today. Praise be to God. Thank you, Lord, for the birds. May I never forget to notice them.