The last few mornings I've been woken up by a chorus of loud cheeping right above the bedroom window. I glanced out the kitchen window this afternoon to see a few little chicks (starlings?) padding around on the patio at the back, looking quite vulnerable and helpless as they faced the world.
The adults birds were there too, but they seemed to come and go. One flew in, dropped some food into the chick's mouth, and then disappeared again.
I grabbed my camera and tiptoed over towards them, but they didn't move, or flinch, or try to escape. They haven't learned to be afraid of humans yet.
Previous blog posts have touched on this, but the last few years in ministry have been like this:
- Being thrust, feeling ill-prepared, into the real world and having to just get on with the business of learning to fly. There is guidance and help, but not 24/7 and there are many times where no-one is around, and you have to dig deep and remember what you've learned. I am eternally grateful to God for those times.
- Often feeling exposed and insecure, and wanting to run for cover, but knowing I'd be running in the wrong direction if (and when!) I did that.
- Sometimes coming up against strong influences or people who, by virtue of their position or personality, have a measure of power over you, and you end up wondering how you'll come out of it.
- Sometimes not being sure where the nest is.
But underneath all this, I know my faith has deepened a great deal - it just had to. And somehow I can say (without being syrupy) that I know, through the indwelling Holy Spirit, that there is a great, mighty, kind, eternal, loving presence that is watching over the whole thing, even though he isn't always tangibly present, but stands back, like a good parent, to allow us to find our courage and discover the capabilities he's given us.
And the one who takes care of the birds is more than able to look after us.
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? (Mt 6:26).
A number of practical and timely encouragements in my preparations for Canada have brought this home to me again e.g. people offering things I was about to ask for (storage boxes and so on). There is a growing list of these "coincidences".
And so, as I prepare to be flicked out of the nest again, a prayer:
Father,
Who cares for the birds,
Who, though ten a penny, feast daily at the table of your providence,
Teach me to live like one more valued than a bird,
And grant my heart the serenity of one eternally encircled
The bounty of one richly provided for
And the trust of one tenderly cared for.
Amen.