"every bird of every sort"
Genesis 7:14
Are you a birder? That's a weird word. When I was a kid, they were called "bird watchers". When did they become birders?
It's a wonderful hobby, with many different variations. There are those who never leave their house, but draw as many varieties as they can to their backyard, and there are those who travel the world in search of elusive species. I'm fascinated by the idea of the latter. Going to remote locations, and sitting in a tree all night long, hoping to catch a glimpse or hear a trill? Awesome.
However, truth be told, I'm more the type to thoroughly enjoy the ones that come to visit me. Like our beautiful woodpeckers, the tiny hummingbirds, and the strikingly beautiful phoebes. Not to mention the wild parrots that every summer come to live in the high eucalyptus trees behind our backyard. Those are hard to see. We hear them plainly, but if we go outside to look at them, we can't see them. They are green, and blend completely in with the trees. So if we're lucky we can see them flying. And once, when Amazing Boy was in the backyard, two of them buzzed his head, so he and I both got a good look ~ albeit a brief one!
My parents and in-laws have both taken an increased interest in backyard birds over the past few years. They've experimented with seed and feed to attract a variety of birds, and gotten a thrill from a glimpse of something beautiful or unusual.
I read recently about a woman who had become an occasional bird-watcher. She didn't decide to become one, she just started noticing the birds around her home, so then she started looking a little harder. And soon she became aware of a beautiful song, but from a bird she couldn't locate. She generally heard it in the evening, so she took to going outside and waiting for it in the evenings, but even the times she heard it, she couldn't locate it.
And then she prayed. She said that her words were, "Father, I would love to know the name of this bird and see what it looks like. Thank You. Amen."
And some time later ~ a day, a week, a month, I don't know ~ she saw him. He flew near her one afternoon, and alighted on a log near where she was. And he stood there for several seconds, so that she got a good look. And he sang, so she knew it was the one she'd been looking for.
Now, the message of this post isn't about the timely miracle of this bird who just happened to appear after she prayed. The message really isn't about answered prayer at all, though I love this sweet reminder that God does answer prayers!
No, the message ~ the lesson, really, that I took away from reading that account, was not about answered prayer, but about praying. To be honest, I'm not sure it would have occurred to me to pray such an insignificant prayer. And that's really a pity. I think sometimes I just assume that God knows what's best, and God knows what I want, so why bother asking? If He wants me to have what I want, then I'll have it.
But the truth is, He wants us to ask. He wants us to not feel "resigned to our fate," but to desire better. And that includes the little things. It includes praying that my schedule will work out, that the weather will cool down, and yes, it includes praying to see a bird up close, so that I can really appreciate it.
I take it as a challenge. There's evidence of a childlike faith in her prayer to see the bird, and I think I need to humble myself more. To admit to Him that I'm helpless, that there is nothing in my life that is not from Him. It doesn't mean He'll say yes to every prayer, but asking Him acknowledges that He should decide, not me. It acknowledges that the God who parted the Red Sea and raised the dead to life, can also bring a white Christmas, or find that necklace I lost, or guide me in my day.
There is no prayer too small for a God so big.
~ "How much more
will your Father who is in heaven
give good things to those who ask Him!" ~
Matthew 7:11
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