Look at the Birds

A couple of house guests moved in a few weeks ago. A pair of robins found the perfect spot, on top of the utility box on the side of the garage, nicely protected by the arbour. 

They painstakingly built their nest for several days until it was just right. Once everything was the way they wanted, Mrs. Robin took up her post.

April and May brought warm and sunny, as well as cold and blustery. She sat on that nest day and night, under all extremes of conditions. No cable. No satellite. No video games. Not even a book. Just the same window.

Every time we would come and go, Robin was there. We could see her head and beak peeking out.  She became somewhat accustomed to us. We could even get pretty close without spooking her, a good thing since she was in a rather high traffic area, near the front of the garage.

The Robin family were quiet guests.  We only heard them one time, on Saturday evening through an open window. Perhaps they were chasing away a predator who got too close.  Or, maybe she was scolding him for spending too much time hanging out with the boys and not doing his share of the egg-sitting.

She had become more active, often being seen perched on the edge of the nest with a worm in her beak. It was fascinating to watch her head bobbing as she was feeding the little inhabitants of the nest. They were likely very tiny still, as there was no chirping to be heard. Later, she would be sitting on the nest once again. We wondered how she could sit on a bunch of little ones with sharp beaks... would she know it was time to get more food when they began to poke her?

Last Friday morning, though, when I left for a meeting, neither Mr. or Mrs. Robin were anywhere to be found. Odd, I thought, but perhaps something had startled them, or they were somewhat further afield seeking grub for the family.

Returning from my meeting a short while later, I expected to see Mrs. Robin back at her post. But she wasn't there. Didn't make an appearance all day!

On Saturday morning, my curiosity got the best of me.  I climbed the step ladder to get a good look.

The nest was very tidy... with five little featherless, motionless babies, curled up together into one little ball. My heart sank.

Why would such a faithful robin abandon her next, the one she sat in for hours on end, days on end?  Maybe something spooked her, making her suspect the safety of the nest had been compromised. Perhaps a cat had taken her as they foraged for food. Maybe, when I came home Thursday after dark startling her, she flew into an unseen obstacle in the dark.

As I thought about what I should do with the abandoned nest and little family, in my mind I could hear George Beverly Shea, my dad's favorite, sing "His eye is on the sparrow".

I sing because I'm happy, I sing because I'm free, For His eye is on the sparrow, And I know He watches me.

I somehow felt comfort knowing that God's eye was on this little robin family.

Jesus used birds to illustrate the Father's love for us, for me.

Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? - Matthew 6:26

He continues with an incredible promise in Matthew 6:31-33:

So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

Amazing.

Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.

Can You See the Solution?

In Matthew 14, after John the Baptist had been killed, Jesus withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. The crowds followed him on foot. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. 

As evening approached, the disciples came to him to send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.

Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.” 

Pretty matter of fact response. Problem? What problem? Just give them something to eat.

The disciples only had five loaves of bread and two fish. In their minds, this would not come close to addressing their need for food, let alone for thousands!


Jesus didn’t flinch. He took that small amount, thanked God for it and sent the disciples out to distribute. When everyone was satisfied, the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of left overs.


Jesus sees problems and solutions from a higher plane and perspective than I do. There are needs to be met, and more than enough resources to do so when God is in the picture.

After all, God fed an entire nation in the desert out of thin air for forty years - five loaves and two fish are more than enough to feed five thousand! Elisha did a similar miracle multiplying the oil for the widow who had debts beyond her ability to pay, providing her with more than enough to repay. The Bible has many other accounts of miraculous provision.

Imagine being part of this, handing out food to hundreds and thousands from a basket that never gets empty.

Like the disciples, I see the obvious problem rather than the solution. In the next chapter, they faced a similar problem with a hungry crowd of 4,000, yet with seven loaves and a few small fish in hand, still didn’t see the solution. With this miraculous distribution fresh in their minds, they should have seen it, but didn't.

For the challenges and sometimes desperate situations I face, either for the “five thousand” around me or for my own needs, do I even think of moving forward with what I have? Or, am I overwhelmed and paralyzed by the situation, as the disciples were looking at the crowd? 

What “little” do I have, do you have, that God can stretch to provide what is needed in our lives, or for those around us?