Strange Birds
My youngest son, Timothy, has recently been set on building birdhouses. As a loving father, I began investigating patterns for birdhouses on the internet and quickly learned several things. First of all, what some people consider “simple plans” are anything but simple! Secondly, we learned that if you are hoping to attract a specific species of bird, you must build a very specific birdhouse and place it in very precise conditions. For a bird called a “cavity nester,” the entrance hole to the birdhouse needs to be a certain distance above the floor of the birdhouse. Some birds like to nest very high, some near water, and some very far from other nests of the same sort! In other words, many types of birds are particular in their needs and habits and unlike “all the other birds.”
This reminds me so much of people. We all have idiosyncrasies that make us unique. Purple martins nest in colonies and robins nest on platforms without roofs. Some people are very social and thrive in groups. They long for other people and become lonely if they are sent out on their own. Then there are others that would be happy if their only interaction with other humans was by carrier pigeon! Some people prefer a faster paced environment, love city life and cannot imagine being more than five minutes away from a grocery store or gas station. Other folks cherish country life, slow paced and spread out. Not only are our preferences different, but our needs are different, also. The needs of the eagle are very different from the duck or sparrow, since they are so dissimilar, but God provides for all of them. Then there are the very odd birds such as kiwi, penguins or ostriches, which are so unique that they stretch the definition of “bird.” Thankfully, God has seen fit to create a great variety of environments on earth so the birds and other animals can find food, shelter and climates that fit their specific needs. It is truly amazing how God cares for the birds.
Matthew 6:25-26
Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
Consider the birds. We should be comforted that God cares for them. It is evidence that God cares for us, too, even if we are the “strange” bird!