Recently when I was teaching at the Canadian Lutheran Bible Institute, one of my students chose to focus on birds during her time alone with God. I started drawing a bird…it was so peaceful…to relax and draw in God’s presence.
Danielle had already been enjoying a passage in Matthew 6 before I arrived in Camrose, Alberta:
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?
Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?
(Matthew 6:26-27)
When I spoke about the story behind the song His Eye is on The Sparrow, it was a little “coincidence” for Danielle. So, as she sat down to be alone with God she was convinced there was something for her to ponder that included birds.
As I sat there drawing a bird I felt God was inviting me to rest. I practiced letting go of small worries, and felt free to just enjoy the beautiful things all around me. When my picture was finished I wrote these words beside it – “Birds don’t worry, they sing!”
There is an awareness about God’s care that I imagine has been stirred up for people over the centuries with the help of this idea; God cares for birds and he cares far more for each one of us. It is this awareness that we are seeing increased in the people we are serving. Often, when God speaks, like he did to Danielle, the awareness comes and brings refreshment. When it really sinks in, it’s changing the way people live and breathe. As a teacher, I was impacted by Danielle’s experience and am convinced she is receiving something beautiful as she listens to God through this picture from Scripture and nature.
All day long I’ve been remembering how God takes care of even the smallest of birds. So, I plan to live in confidence that God takes care of me.
I’m looking forward to spending an evening focused on this theme of God’s care for birds and people at our annual MARK Centre dinner (October 5th). We’re going to enjoy one of the most recorded gospel songs of the Twentieth Century and listen to a short Scripture about birds. I have a feeling “looking at birds” will do us well.
~ Steve Klassen, Executive Director