Look at the Birds, and Learn

²⁶ Look at the birds in the sky. They don’t plant or harvest or gather food into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. You are more valuable than they are, aren’t you?-     Matthew 6:26

We have a number of friends and family who have pets such as dogs, cats, and the like.  Some have only one pet, and others have multiple pets.   It is fair to say that we do not have pets in the traditional sense of the word.  You will find no dogs,cats, and the like that belong to Ann and I wandering to and fro around our house.  However, we do have pets, but not like most people do.  You see, we have wild birds that “come home” to our house regularly.  Outside the window of our home we have not one bird feeder, but 5 bird feeders that are frequented by wild birds winter, spring, summer, and fall.    We fill these bird feeders about once a week.  When the grandchildren are here, they help fill the feeders.

Ann and I enjoy watching the birds that visit the feeders outside our home.  I was struck the other day at the variety of birds that were there.  There were the small chickadees, and the beautiful cardinals.  There was an assortment of birds in various sizes and colors at the feeder that day.  Though they had different names and looked different, they found a way to get along together as they fed at the bird feeders.   Somehow, the birds were getting along.

Perhaps we have something to learn from the birds.  Many point to the fact that birds don’t seem to worry even though they know not where their next meal will come from.   Yes, that is an important lesson.    Perhaps there is something we could learn from the birds about getting along with others.   There seems great divisiveness and disagreement   in the world today in our nation, our state, and even the church at large.    The reasons for those divisions are many.  Perhaps we would do well to look and learn from the birds about getting along even with those different from you.  A good hope and wish perhaps as we begin this new year.  Have a joy-filled week.- Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:  Lord,  bind us together with the power of your love.  We pray in the name of the one who unites us,  Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.