A Strange Guest

“Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not of more value than they?” Matthew 6:26

I was sitting in the basement last week making new curtains for my classroom and I was visited by a very strange guest.  I was just stitching away minding my own business when I heard a whoosh sound followed by the crashing of the roaster oven lid.  The roaster is kept on a high shelf near the sewing machine and when I looked up to see what made the racket I was dive bombed by a bird.  After my screech I’m not sure who was more startled, me or the bird.  In the quarter century I’ve lived in this house, there has never been a bird inside…let alone in the basement.  I was puzzled not only about how he got in, but by how I was going to get him out!

It took me a minute to come up with a plan, which included making sure he didn’t get upstairs.  He dive bombed me a couple more times and then seemed to vanish.  I’m not sure what was more unsettling; seeing him or not seeing him! I went out of the sewing room, around the corner and across the basement and took the screen off the egress window and pulled back the curtain in hopes that if I could get him pointed in that direction he’s see the open window and fly out. After I’d prepared his exit I began searching for him and startled him off his nesting perch on the bottom step and he soared up the stairs and crashed right into the basement door.  I was not excited about the prospect of scooping up a dead bird but as I crept toward the steps trying to see if he was still alive he whizzed over my head, down the stairs, around the corner and in one quick zoom flew clear across the length of the basement and right out the window.  Success!

When I sat back down to the sewing machine I realized that little incident was a lessons.  I was thinking about all the times I’d made my own silly decisions without consulting my Father the master planner.  Like that bird, I have wound up in some crazy situations that were not meant for me.  Thankfully like the open window I provided for the bird, God always seems to provide a way out for me too.  I can think of plenty of times I’ve flapped around and banged my head trying to go somewhere I wasn’t supposed to go.   I’ve traveled down the wrong path and searched and searched to find my way only to discover I was simply on the wrong path to begin with.  That little bird wanted nothing to do with me.  It would have been easier and much less stressful if he would have gently perched on my finger so I could take him outside peacefully but we weren’t meant to have a relationship.  I don’t know about you, but I have been a part of friendships or relationships that were not meant for me, God even arranges those to our benefit if we invite him into the center of them.

As I sewed that morning I was nursing a heavy heart.  Jason was scheduled to move out in just a few days and Kevin won’t be far behind and as much as I’m excited for their next adventure and as much as I know they are ready to fly off on their own, it still made my heart ache a little.  When I thought about the way that bird zoomed out that window safe, and sound I realized that was what my boys were ready for too. I’ve been so blessed to have them parking their feet under my dinner table while they commuted to college but like that bird, they are ready to experience a new freedom.  I needed a gentle reminder that if he could take care of that little bird he would surely take care of my sons.  I sighed a quick thank you for the lesson and got back to work.  When I finished the project and went upstairs I walked past the hallway mirror and noticed what I thought was white thread on my hair and forehead.  As I moved in closer for inspection, I realized that it wasn’t thread, it was bird poop.  Who says God doesn’t have a sense of humor!  I got a couple great lessons plus a little humility training to boot. All in all…it was a very good day!

A Seed To Plant:  Have you ever been in the wrong place or the wrong relationship?  Ask God to guide you to the nearest planned exit and put you back on the path he has chosen.

Blessings on your day!