Robin Reflections: Day 4

No new eggs.  The chicks have not hatched.  Now the waiting begins.

For me, waiting represents one of the most difficult things of life.  Have you ever been in a situation where it is difficult to wait?  My family and I have.  Take the occasion when I was without a job for nine months.  I was hard pressed to know how I was going to pay my mortgage (or groceries for that matter).  It was difficult when a prospective employer would say, "We will contact you in several weeks concerning that job opening."  Or, several years ago when the doctor said, "This might be cancerous.  We will get back to you in several days and when we know the lab results."  In times like those, Psalm 27:14 is a real comfort, "Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!"

Why is it so difficult for us to wait?  Why is it that this is a task that frustrates us as human beings?  It may be because it tells us that we can not control every aspect of our lives.  Waiting reminds us that we are not truly the masters of our destinies. 

There is an alternative to "waiting on the Lord".  It is called worry.  Worry gives us the false impression that we are accomplishing something when in reality it paralyzes and eventually chokes the very life out of us.  For example, our robin friend could have said, "I don't think I will lay eggs this year because a boa constrictor may eat the eggs."  Well, I suppose that is possible.  However, I have never seen a fence post climbing, egg swallowing snake any where near my back yard in Iowa.

I think another reason why waiting is so difficult is because we don't really know what is going to happen tomorrow.  Sometimes our imagination gets the best of us.  We stay up late watching a science fiction movie and then worry why this country doesn't figure out some way of protecting the planet from invading aliens!

I do not mean to belittle your situation.  Perhaps your world really is spiraling out of control.  The Bible gives us several practical suggestions regarding what we should do while we are waiting.  Philippians 4:5,6 says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."

I heard someone with a witty sense of humor say once, "Why pray when you can worry!"  What is the end result of worry?  Fear.  Sleepless nights.  Ulcers.  What is the end result of prayer and petition?  The verse above continues and gives us the answer.  "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:7  In other words, the Apostle Paul is saying that even though you can't figure it out, even though it doesn't make sense, when you pray God gives you His peace.  And that peace functions like a guard standing watch over your heart and mind.

A guard is someone who watches over property in order to protect it so someone won't break in.  Prayer watches over your heart and mind so the enemy, General Worry won't break in.

So next time, when you have to wait on something, guard against the temptation to worry by choosing to pray instead.  Perhaps remembering one of my favorite verses, Isaiah 40:31 will help:

But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.

Why worry, when you can pray!

Robin Reflections: Day 3

It rained yesterday, May 31st, almost all day.  It started yesterday evening and rained all through the night.  That means our robin friend got soaked.  The picture below was one of the few pictures that came out.  Most of them were dark gray and blurry.  Several were completely black.  Perhaps I should have published one one of those images instead because it may have captured that dreary day more appropriately.

What kinds of thoughts were going through this robin's mind?  Why did she choose to do what she was doing?  I began to wonder what it would be like to sit in a nest, in the rain, all night long.  If I were a robin, I would imagine it would be easy (or easier) if I could sit on the nest with a friend, when the sun is shinning, the weather is pleasant and you have a balmy breeze in your hair, er ... feathers.  But I had to ask myself, would I have the courage that it would take to sit on the nest through a storm?

Mrs. robin got me thinking.  It is easy for me to do what is right when others are watching, especially when I am surrounded by family or friends that are like-minded.  However, when the snapshot of my life is out of focus, when it is dark, cold, and I am alone, during those moments, do I have the integrity to do those things that God has called me to do?

That robin's actions inspire me.  She is single-minded in her diligence and focused on what is really important.  In a word, faithful.

One of my favorite songs is "Find Us Faithful", by Steve Green.  Tears came to my eyes when I reread the lyrics.  The words brought back so many memories.  The guy that was sitting in the seat next to me on the bus where I am writing this posting, probably thought I was nuts!  The song captures my thoughts so much better than I could express:

After all our hopes and dreams have come and gone
And our children sift through all we've left behind
May the clues that they discover and the memories they uncover
Become the light that leads them to the road we each must find

Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful
May the fire of our devotion light their way
May the footprints that we leave
Lead them to believe
And the lives we live inspire them to obey
Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful

The reward for our robin's efforts?  Three eggs.  The reward for our faithfulness?  A life that counts for something more than just the accumulation of stuff.  In addition, eternal life is not a shabby fringe benefit.

Since I was a teenager, I have been the kind of person who has wanted to do something "big" for God.  I have often said that when I retire, that my desire is to do something truly significant for the Kingdom.  I have also said that if I only had some serious monetary resources, I could impact a great number of people.

Evidently, the quantity of our faithful deeds must not be as significant as whether or not we are simply faithful.  Luke 16:10 says, "One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much."  From this verse, I must ask myself, "What has God already given me, for which I need to faithful?"

Similar to a precious gem, faithfulness is something that is rare.  In Proverbs 20:6, Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived said, "Many claim to have unfailing love, but a faithful person who can find?"  In addition, faithfulness is something that becomes even more difficult to find in the end times.  Jesus, perhaps thinking out loud about the last days said, "... when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?" Luke 18:8

I don't know about you, but when the Lord returns, I want to be found faithful.  I want to be at my post doing the things God has given me to do.  It would be my greatest reward to have my Lord say to me, "... Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, ....  Enter into the joy of your lord."  Matthew 25:23  That's what I want for my life.  The applause of God, even if I end up sitting on a nest.

Robin Reflections: Day 2

Yesterday, May 30th, I found the brave mother hunkered down in her nest.  Like a soldier on duty, our backyard robin performed sentry at her post, vigilantly on the watch for danger.

When she flew away, I was excited to discover two perfect, blue eggs.

I was reminded of the scripture from Psalms 61:4, "Let me dwell in your tent forever!  Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings!  Selah".  I was thinking, how foolish it would be for the chicks to shout (from within the egg), "I am a self-made chick.  I have no need of you!"  Or even more absurd, "I can not see a mother robin, therefore it does not exist."

Perhaps Jesus felt the same frustration with the religious leaders and his people who rejected his message when He said, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!" Matthew 23:37

There is something comforting in trusting in Someone who is greater than ourselves.  When we don't know what the future holds, it comforts me to know the One who holds the future.  Today, those pre-hatched chicks can rest secure in knowing that a loving mother is watching over their well-being.  And I can be at peace knowing that I have an Almighty God who loves me with the fondness that ... well, that a robin has for her "children".  Perhaps King David said it best, "How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!  Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings." Psalms 36:7

Robin Reflections

On Memorial Day, May 28th, our neighborhood robin finished building her nest on top of a post in our backyard. I can't help but wonder if it was the same robin that built a nest in the same location last year.

I wish I would have taken a picture of the nest when it was work progress however, it was nearly finished before I first discovered it the day before.

I took a picture of the nest at 6:00am yesterday morning, May 29th:

She must have known that she was going to lay an egg soon because after I took this picture, I saw the robin perched on top of our house a singing a loud and happy song.  Yesterday evening, after I got home from work, I was thrilled to discover that she had laid a single turquoise egg:

Psalm 50:11 says, "I know every bird in the mountains ..."  I realize that there are no mountains anywhere near southeastern Iowa, however, that verse reminded me today that even though I may not know this backyard visitor, God does.  And perhaps, He even knows this robin's name.  Psalm 147:4 says, "He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name."  If God knows the names of the stars, it is not hard to imagine that He knows the names of the robins as well.  It also comforts me to reflect that if God knows the name of the robin that lives in my backyard, he surely knows my name.  According to Isaiah 43:1, we find out this is indeed the case, "But now thus says the Lord, He who created you, ... 'Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.'"