The Nest

I was on my porch today and saw a bird flying back and forth.
I decided to watch for a bit.
It was a mother bird that had made a nest in one of my hanging plants.

There it was…perfectly made…perfectly hidden among the leaves.
When they were young, I always told my children not to touch a nest.
I always feared that the mother bird would not come back if the nest was disturbed.

Last summer, a bird built a nest in one of my hanging baskets, as well.
I remember how much I loved to hear the tiny birds chirping as I sat on my porch swing.

It was the perfect thing to discover today.

My daughter, who is a second grade school teacher, left today to go to Nashville.
She will be gone for five weeks…volunteering with two organizations.
Obviously, she has been on my mind and in my prayers as she travels.

My son, who is in college, is working as an intern with a ministry this summer.
He is a drummer in the worship band.
As they travel around, leading worship at churches and rallies, they also work with the youth in various communities.

My three other children are closer to home and just as close to my heart as I pray.
I was thinking this morning about how I cannot imagine my life without the Lord.
I have entrusted all of them into His Hands.

God is not a God of a specific place.
They do not have to be in their home state of Pennsylvania for my prayers to be heard.
God is everywhere…all at once…at any given time.

Think of how a mother feels when her young children are clamoring for her time and attention.
Increase that exponentially and imagine what the sound of prayer must be to God’s ears.
A mother may get tired and a bit weary…but not God.
He who watches over you…will neither slumber nor sleep. (Psalm 121:3,4)

It is so comforting to know that God is in control.
We can rest in that.

Seeing the nest this morning, as I was praying, made me think of Psalm 17:8.
Keep me as the apple of Your eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings.

That is what the mother bird does.
That is what God does for His children.

There is no safer place than nestled in God’s care.
We can safely release our loved ones into the loving care of our Heavenly Father.

We pray for the care and protection of those we love.
God does not fall asleep on the job.
If our prayers are answered differently than we had hoped, He is still in control.

The mother bird flew away as I came on the porch.
But she was nearby.
I heard her singing, as she perched in a tree.

God does not fly away...I will never leave you or forsake you. (Joshua 1:5)
He is sovereign over everything.
Everything is under His control.

The eternal God is your refuge and underneath are the everlasting arms.
(Deuteronomy 33:27)

Such wondrous promises.
Such love.

I am so thankful that God allows us to see a spiritual truth in something so simple.
Something that we see everyday.
I love when the ordinary becomes a holy moment.

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? Who of you by
worrying can add a single hour to his life? (Matthew 6:26, 27)

Knowing His promises, we still worry and wonder about so many things.
…your Heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.  (Matthew 6:32-34)

There is such freedom in His promises.
I don’t know what I would do without Him.