Jan 21 2008
4 and 20 Blackbirds
I have greatly enjoyed watching the variety of birds that visit my back yard. They constantly remind me of a verse I was given in the summer. “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?” I have seen blue jays, nuthatches, robins, doves, bluebirds, woodpeckers, cardinals, hummingbirds, a Cooper’s Hawk, and an entire flock of red wing blackbirds. My Mom declared my yard a bird sanctuary. On Saturday, as I watched the 4 and 20 Blackbirds, I was feeling blessed like the king with his dainty dish. Today, I went out to refill my bird feeder and broke it. I suddenly felt like the maid in the garden who got her nose snipped off. I had dropped the feeder and snapped the center plastic pole that links the top with the base. I looked at the feeder and told myself, “Just throw it away, Mugs. You’ll never be able to fix it.” But I am stubborn in my pursuit of trying to learn to fix things. Soon, Gabe and I were trying to repair it with twine and packing tape. As the task got more and more frustrating and I got more and more frustrated, Zeke decided it was a good time to come over and ask again and again and again and again and again and again and again that I help him with something else. I lost my temper and everyone in the vicinity got yelled at. Josiah was the only one spared as he was off somewhere else dealing with the pain of new braces. Our Pastor spoke on Sunday on how the fruit of the Spirit should be our initial response. It should come from within. It should not be an outward control that we use to suppress our innate response. Self Control and Patience coming from within. Here I thought I was doing a passable job and then I’m shone that the bar is set so much higher. Gabe and I finished jerryrigging the bird feeder and went outside to hang it back up. I filled it partway and lifted it. It seemed to be holding, so I filled it all the way up with bird food and lifted it. Crash! It broke again. Gabe looked at all the bird food spilled on the ground and said, “Well, that was a waste of money.” Apparently, he is greatly concerned about the price of bird food. So, God will have to feed the birds for awhile. I will, of course, buy another feeder. You see, I still want to help God with His job. I enjoy displaying my goodness outwardly, because allowing Him to create His goodness from within me is a much more difficult work. It requires that I recognize my righteousness is as filthy rags and the only thing good in me is Christ.
Were you mad angry? I’m not sure which is worse, being mad angry or being just plain mad. She’s mad I say!
All ways are the Queens ways.
I am as good with movie lines as I am with song lyrics. So I have no reply.