The same day that Jack hung a birdhouse on our patio, a pair of wrens took up residence. They have provided entertainment for us ever since. Our back yard is treacherous for small birds, as there are vigilant hawks who are also trying to raise and feed their own broods. The birdhouse is the best protection for the wrens, and we have seen the young ones successfully make it out to our hedges.

Watching the birds, and knowing how fragile their lives are, I marvel at their species’ survival for so many centuries and even millennia. I marvel, too, at the hummingbirds, many of which fly alone across the Gulf of Mexico in their migration. This feat is repeated annually, and never ceases to be astounding. In addition to all this, the birds themselves are beautiful. They have tremendous eye-appeal, as testified by their ubiquitous portraits in magazines, cards, and fabrics of all kinds.

I can’t help thinking of the wonderful variety of birds as descendants of those in Eden, representatives of creation itself. They display some of the most appealing aspects of our God: beauty, focus, and perseverance.

“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it,”(Psalm 24:1) Almost anything in a garden can remind us of our God, but birds have instant appeal that delights and lifts our spirits, a movement that takes us half-way to remembering our savior God. For several years I have purposed to remember Christ whenever I saw a cardinal. I would take the sight as a signal to remember Jesus and his presence in my every day life. This year we had a cardinal nest outside our kitchen window and delighted in watching the progress of launching the one chick that arrived. Indeed, it was a blessing to be so close the the nest.

“And God said, ‘Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky’. . . and God saw that it was good.”( Genesis 1:20-21)

“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” ( Romans 1:20-21)

“As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. In that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love, with him I am well pleased.’” (Matthew 3:16-17)

Love in Him,

Prue