I’ve been hearing birdsong a lot lately—I guess it must mean spring is coming. This morning when my sister and I were having our quiet times, some sweet little bird was trilling merrily outside our window.
My sister said, “You know that verse in James that talks about how every good and perfect gift is from above? I’ve been thinking about how that can mean little things like birds singing, and times like last night.” The evening before we’d had simple, joyous fun as a family just listening to my sister try out different audition songs for our theater company’s upcoming production of Cinderella.
It was good for me to be reminded of the many “little” ways our Father shows us His love. I so easily lose sight of them, as I focus on the “big” problems that seem continually cropping up around me. But He continues to teach me that thankfulness—which seems often just to mean opening my eyes to a life dotted with signs of His faithfulness—is perhaps the best way to fight the anxiety that loves to creep in.
I suppose it was lack of trust in God as much as anything that precipitated the Fall—and maybe that’s why now it takes so much less effort to find things to worry about than to just trust Him, and remember all the things to be thankful for. Like sunshine, and rosy camellias, and a good visit to the doctor, and a loving home, and good food, and wonderful critique partners, and so much more.
Maybe that’s why He told us to consider the birds.
“Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?” ~Matthew 6:26
Kiersti, love your post. My husband and I enjoy looking outside at our bird feeders to see what our visitors will be that day. We so enjoy them, from the tiny wren to the scarlet cardinal that stands out in the middle of a dark green shrub to the fat doves sitting on the fence and cooing. Hey, maybe Sally Rose can be a bird enthusiast! Light bulb going on! Thanks!
What a wonderful idea for Sally Rose’s character!
Yesterday’s sermon was on worry and quoted this verse, of course 🙂
Big problems so often do crowd out our little joys, don’t they? For some reason, we prefer complaining to acknowledging the good. I’d blame our society and how things like the news focus on the negative because it sells, but look at the Israelites after they left Egypt. I suppose it’s one of Satan’s easiest ways of distracting us from our Lord. Perhaps that’s why there are so many verses focused on seeing our blessings, like the one you shared and Philippians 4:4-7.