His eye is truly on the sparrow…
Happy Spring!
Yesterday was the first day of the season and while the winds blew so hard that the temperature did not feel like 50 degrees, it was under a beautiful blue sky and winter is losing its grip. Underneath the chill, there is a sense that we are not far from warmer days and flowers and green again.
Directly behind us and just over the fence, I can see our neighbors bird feeders that have been out all winter as have ours been. The little song birds go back and forth over the wooden fence and bring so much joy.
But then every year, the grackles return and nest in the high trees along the fence line of our two properties. Like the playground bullies that they are, they are soon figuring out a way to knock seed all over the place and help themselves as they scare off the little songbirds and cardinal couple who have subleased a nest in our lilac bushes for years.
I have been researching and discovered that all the birds we want to attract love safflower and this is something the grackles detest. I was about to shut down the seed diner for the season but decided to give the safflower seed a try.
I bought a small bag yesterday and put some out in the late afternoon.
So far this morning I have noted a ton of finches, the cardinal couple, doves, robins, sparrows and all kinds of cute little birds I can’t name for you.
The grackles have come but as they poke the beak into one hole and then another, they take nothing and fly off. As soon as one leaves a flurry of sweet little songbirds are back at their feeding frenzy.
I also noted some of those scary crow like birds picking around on the ground and again taking off with disgust. According to my research, they will eventually move on since they can’t find food they like and next winter, while they are migrated off to warmer climates we can go back to our other mix until spring calls for more safflower seeds.
It made me think as I watched them this morning about my social media fast. Sorry. You didn’t see that coming?
I have noted in myself some positive changes.
I am more content with what is my lot. Without seeing all the new recipes and clothing and funny, clever thoughts of others, I feel more at peace with who I am and what I have and how I do things around the house.
Since it is a fast, when I have reached for my phone out of habit; I have learned to replace the scrolling with prayer, reading, or just contemplating what it was inside of me that caused me to want to see what others are doing instead of just being present in the moment I am right at that time and season.
This has brought growth.
So, like our bird feeder, what I am filling up with is drawing more positive and Christ-like thoughts and behaviors. More content…more thoughtful…more living in the here and now.
It also makes me more aware of and more desirous of rooting out the stuff inside of me that is working against growing more like Him. Instead of distracting myself with the entertainment offered through social media, I have to face my struggles with how I am behaving, thinking, feeling that are contrary to what I know to be the fruit of the Spirit.
I have found I have more time than I thought I had since I am not wasting it. I have more time to walk, to clean, to read, to work on some projects that have been sitting idle.
Good seed planted for the soul is attracting more song and less “grackle-ing”.
John asked me what I plan to do once the fast is over.
A good question to ponder and to pray about.
How are you doing with your season of Lent and whatever you chose to do to set it aside for growth and cleansing? Here is a prayer for all of us …
Heavenly Father, as we are now just a few weeks away from Easter I want to thank You for the way You have led us through Lent thus far. Thank You for the way You meet us where we are and You understand how we are made of flesh and bone. Thank You for placing Your Spirit in us so that we can fellowship with You and learn of You in ways we could not know without His help.
Lord, the little things we have given up are not so much in the grand scheme of life on earth. So many suffer with so little and we have so much. Yet, You do not condemn us but receive us as we learn what it is to deny ourselves of things that we have become dependent upon having for our use. These are not bad things, but by removing them we are opening ourselves up to more of You.
I pray for my brothers and sisters to cherish this season of Lent as a time of refining and self-examining according to Your Word. I pray for conviction where it is needed and strength in our weakness. I pray for this to be a year when we truly embrace the celebration of the Passover and Easter Sunday in new and fresh ways.
You are so good to us to invite us into fellowship with You. Nothing we have given up compares to what we gain in You.
In Jesus Name
Amen
me
And friends, as a bonus, here is a short prayer from the John Baillie prayer book that I wrote out and am trying to memorize:
Today, let your Holy Spirit breathe into my heart clean and true desires worthy of your reign. May Christ be formed in me and let me learn from him how to be humble in heart, gentle in bearing, modest in speech, helpful in action, and prompt in carrying out my Father’s will.
John Bailie, A Diary of Private Prayer