Birds
“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
A few years ago, the Sundaras experienced a weighty season of life. I remember driving home from work, my head churning with various thoughts. I tried listening to Christian radio and a podcast to be encouraged, but found that the noise only added to the chaos. So, I drove in silence, trying to channel my thoughts into prayers, seeking solace and refuge in the Lord. Eventually even that stopped, and I found myself sitting in silence at an intersection, waiting for the lights to change.
Grackles are one of the most boisterous sounding birds and that evening, while I waited for the lights and perhaps even my emotions to change, the grackles sounded like music. I rolled down my windows, listening ever more intently to their noise, feeling strangely warmed and comforted.
Grackles are not comforting birds, but their cacophony reminded me of Jesus’ words about how sparrows (in my case, grackles) fill the air and how the Lord looks after them, and yet how I am more valuable than them to the Lord. (Matthew 6:26)
Looking back, I don’t particularly remember what weighed us down that season, but I do remember the Lord speaking through His Word in the grackles’ noise.
What’s weighing you down this season? How can you be reminded of sparrows and our Father’s love for you? Maybe you’ve heard that old song before, “His Eye Is on the Sparrow,” and its words, “When Jesus is my portion, my constant Friend is He; His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches over me.” Be it through the music of sparrows, the noise of grackles or this song, I hope you know that you are precious in the Lord’s eyes, and every burden of your life matters to Him.
