It seems I was a little harsh on the momma and poppa robins yesterday. I did a little bit of research and learned that the babies are SUPPOSED to leave the nest ... at a certain age (about 14 days old) they are all too big to stay in the nest and one by one they leave the nest.
The parents are well aware of this and even give some "tough love" (which equates to less frequent feeding) to encourage the babies to leave the nest.
So these little babies leave the nest and hang around close by for up to 2 weeks ... and the parents (mostly the poppa) continue to take care of them ... feeding them ... and working with them on the various skills that are necessary to survive.
If/when the "fledglings" survive this time period ... then they fly away and become fully independent and the parents go on to start another nest/family.
A lot of lessons in this for me to ponder ... but I just wanted to post my apologies to the momma and poppa robin ... and to God for getting frustrated with things that are far too awesome for me to figure out!
If you are interested ... here is a blog with video that shows this beautful process ... stage by stage. http://www.howpeg.com/robinblog2005/
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Look at the birds of the air -- Do Not Worry
"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" (Matthew 6:26-28)
I've been watching the birds for the past few days ... mostly robins ... feasting on the buffet that has been provided with all the rain that has fallen. The rain falls ... the earth that was hard and unyielding ... becomes soft and yielding. In this case, the earthworms rise to the surface and provide a smorgasbord ... all you can eat buffet for the birds.
This morning as I watched ... I noticed a baby bird that was doing his or her best to hop around. I couldn't tell if it were hurt (broken wing or something) or if it was so young that it was a young "hobbler" instead of an experienced "hopper." Regardless, as I approached ... the little bird just opened it's mouth ... expecting and hoping for food. I felt so powerless but yet wanted to help so bad.
Caitlin was with me and since she was the braver of the two of us ... I suggested she be the one to find a worm and feed it to this little critter. So I found the worm ... but stood back while she picked the wriggly and slimy thing up. But the closer we got to the baby bird, the more the momma and the poppa birds (who were in the tree) started screeching and raising a ruckus.
We got the message and left it alone ... but I was ticked because here was this helpless baby bird who was obviously either forced to leave the nest or bravely thought it was ready to leave the nest and then found itself unable to fly. Okay, I admit ... I know nothing about the actual process. I guess I think that a bird doesn't leave the nest until they can actually fly. Regardless of how it happens ... here it was ... on the ground ... unable to fly ... seemingly without the care of it's parents. Found myself getting mad at the momma and poppa birds because they weren't taking care of this baby. I was ticked that it was there on the ground and was not able to fend for itself.
So we (I) sort of stomped away ... yelling at the birds for not taking care of their young ... and very distraught that this baby bird was probably going to be "lunch" for one of the many cats in the trailer park. Caitlin and I went for a walk ... finding a smashed and flattened bird along the way. Great! Completely powerless to stop things from being hurt or flattened by cars!
Yeah, I know ... if my heart was this tender for people ... I could be a much more compassionate follower of Christ. Oh well, I'm getting there ... but right now it is nature and birds and deer and cats that get my attention and my compassion.
So later in the day, I'm sitting outside again ... watching this little bird. It seemed to be so distraught ... now chirping or crying ... seemed to be yelling for attention ... yelling for food. Poor thing, it looked so miserable ... so lost.
My gaze was drawn to the left side when I sensed a movement ... ANOTHER baby bird ... probably from the same nest. Now I'm thinking, what the heck, man ... what kind of day is it? Did the mom and dad wake up and decide that it was time for EVERYBODY to leave the nest?
But this baby bird was different ... it wasn't distraught at all ... in fact, it looked down right happy and pleased to be moving around on it's own. It hopped for a few steps and stopped ... started fluffing or cleaning it's feathers ... whatever it is that birds do. These guys were so small that they still had some of those "down" kind of feathers. I watched it for a while ... comparing the one baby bird to the other.
The one seemed distraught and distressed ... new environment ... new dangers ... fear of the unknown ... didn't even know how to find food. It seemed to be in a state of panic and worry. But the other baby bird seemed to be completely oblivious to anything negative ... it seemed to be content to be in the sunshine ... content to be in a new environment ... content to hop around just a little ... and content to just sit there and not even chirp or keep his mouth open.
The Lord kept telling me ... "keep watching." So I watched ... and I watched ... and my heart was wrenched as I watched the distraught baby cry out and cry out. I remembered the verse that says that God feeds these little critters ... so, yep, you got it ... I started praying.
Before too much longer, here comes the momma bird. I'd been watching her for some time ... flying in and out of the tree ... feasting on worms for herself ... but seemingly oblivious to these two babies on the ground.
Eventually though, she came and fed the second baby bird ... the one that was NOT distressed. It was closest to her ... and although I don't know the reasons ... it was that baby that seemed to get the immediate attention.
So while I was happy to see that the momma bird didn't actually "abandon" these babies ... I was starting to get even more distraught myself (tears streaming while I started to pray for God to FEED this baby). By now, the first baby bird must have gotten sight or scent of the momma and started chirping so loudly that I believe there is no way this momma bird could have ignored it.
But ignore it, she did ... at least for a while. She made a couple of trips and fed the second baby again and again ... but eventually came over to the first baby bird and gave it a single worm. I started thanking God ... I was so distraught over the whole thing that I felt enormous relief when the first baby bird was finally attended to ...
I watched for a while longer and I saw the second baby receive 3rd and 4th helpings on this noon day meal ... but the first baby bird only received the one helping.
Now go and figure THAT one out! I pouted for a bit to God and said "why did the one get MORE than the other one ... wasn't he the 'needier' of the two?" He didn't answer me ... so I took that silence to mean ... that's my business and not your's.
While I found several valuable things to look at through this experience ... I think the biggest one was "perspective."
Both of these babies were fed ... taken care of ... (needs which were provided by God) ... one was distressed and distraught and "worried" ... and the other seemed to be content to wait ... almost trusting that what it needed would be provided.
Simple, huh? Consider ... the birds of the air.
I've been watching the birds for the past few days ... mostly robins ... feasting on the buffet that has been provided with all the rain that has fallen. The rain falls ... the earth that was hard and unyielding ... becomes soft and yielding. In this case, the earthworms rise to the surface and provide a smorgasbord ... all you can eat buffet for the birds.
This morning as I watched ... I noticed a baby bird that was doing his or her best to hop around. I couldn't tell if it were hurt (broken wing or something) or if it was so young that it was a young "hobbler" instead of an experienced "hopper." Regardless, as I approached ... the little bird just opened it's mouth ... expecting and hoping for food. I felt so powerless but yet wanted to help so bad.
Caitlin was with me and since she was the braver of the two of us ... I suggested she be the one to find a worm and feed it to this little critter. So I found the worm ... but stood back while she picked the wriggly and slimy thing up. But the closer we got to the baby bird, the more the momma and the poppa birds (who were in the tree) started screeching and raising a ruckus.
We got the message and left it alone ... but I was ticked because here was this helpless baby bird who was obviously either forced to leave the nest or bravely thought it was ready to leave the nest and then found itself unable to fly. Okay, I admit ... I know nothing about the actual process. I guess I think that a bird doesn't leave the nest until they can actually fly. Regardless of how it happens ... here it was ... on the ground ... unable to fly ... seemingly without the care of it's parents. Found myself getting mad at the momma and poppa birds because they weren't taking care of this baby. I was ticked that it was there on the ground and was not able to fend for itself.
So we (I) sort of stomped away ... yelling at the birds for not taking care of their young ... and very distraught that this baby bird was probably going to be "lunch" for one of the many cats in the trailer park. Caitlin and I went for a walk ... finding a smashed and flattened bird along the way. Great! Completely powerless to stop things from being hurt or flattened by cars!
Yeah, I know ... if my heart was this tender for people ... I could be a much more compassionate follower of Christ. Oh well, I'm getting there ... but right now it is nature and birds and deer and cats that get my attention and my compassion.
So later in the day, I'm sitting outside again ... watching this little bird. It seemed to be so distraught ... now chirping or crying ... seemed to be yelling for attention ... yelling for food. Poor thing, it looked so miserable ... so lost.
My gaze was drawn to the left side when I sensed a movement ... ANOTHER baby bird ... probably from the same nest. Now I'm thinking, what the heck, man ... what kind of day is it? Did the mom and dad wake up and decide that it was time for EVERYBODY to leave the nest?
But this baby bird was different ... it wasn't distraught at all ... in fact, it looked down right happy and pleased to be moving around on it's own. It hopped for a few steps and stopped ... started fluffing or cleaning it's feathers ... whatever it is that birds do. These guys were so small that they still had some of those "down" kind of feathers. I watched it for a while ... comparing the one baby bird to the other.
The one seemed distraught and distressed ... new environment ... new dangers ... fear of the unknown ... didn't even know how to find food. It seemed to be in a state of panic and worry. But the other baby bird seemed to be completely oblivious to anything negative ... it seemed to be content to be in the sunshine ... content to be in a new environment ... content to hop around just a little ... and content to just sit there and not even chirp or keep his mouth open.
The Lord kept telling me ... "keep watching." So I watched ... and I watched ... and my heart was wrenched as I watched the distraught baby cry out and cry out. I remembered the verse that says that God feeds these little critters ... so, yep, you got it ... I started praying.
Before too much longer, here comes the momma bird. I'd been watching her for some time ... flying in and out of the tree ... feasting on worms for herself ... but seemingly oblivious to these two babies on the ground.
Eventually though, she came and fed the second baby bird ... the one that was NOT distressed. It was closest to her ... and although I don't know the reasons ... it was that baby that seemed to get the immediate attention.
So while I was happy to see that the momma bird didn't actually "abandon" these babies ... I was starting to get even more distraught myself (tears streaming while I started to pray for God to FEED this baby). By now, the first baby bird must have gotten sight or scent of the momma and started chirping so loudly that I believe there is no way this momma bird could have ignored it.
But ignore it, she did ... at least for a while. She made a couple of trips and fed the second baby again and again ... but eventually came over to the first baby bird and gave it a single worm. I started thanking God ... I was so distraught over the whole thing that I felt enormous relief when the first baby bird was finally attended to ...
I watched for a while longer and I saw the second baby receive 3rd and 4th helpings on this noon day meal ... but the first baby bird only received the one helping.
Now go and figure THAT one out! I pouted for a bit to God and said "why did the one get MORE than the other one ... wasn't he the 'needier' of the two?" He didn't answer me ... so I took that silence to mean ... that's my business and not your's.
While I found several valuable things to look at through this experience ... I think the biggest one was "perspective."
Both of these babies were fed ... taken care of ... (needs which were provided by God) ... one was distressed and distraught and "worried" ... and the other seemed to be content to wait ... almost trusting that what it needed would be provided.
Simple, huh? Consider ... the birds of the air.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Not About Me
I've always had a problem with this statement. Christians throw it around quite carelessly ... "it's not about you" ... "it's about what God wants to do with your life." Maybe I have a chip on my shoulder about it ... it just never settled with me. A powerful yet short combination of words ... words that penetrated my heart like a dagger ... telling me that what the Lord wanted to do in my life ... had nothing to do with me ... that it wasn't about me.
Before I heard that statement ... I noticed things like the sky was really, really blue and the flowers and the colors in spring and fall were vibrant and full of life. I noticed things like how much God was very present in every day and every situation. In short, I noticed how much I mattered to him ... in very real and very practical everyday situations. I noticed how he protected me from people and I noticed ... no, felt how much he delighted in me ... just for being me. I didn't have to do anything to feel his love for me ... my existence brought delight.
But things changed when someone told me that "truth" that I suppose they felt inclined to share with a baby Christian who needed to grow up. When I served ... I didn't know that I was "serving God" ... I was just happy to help my new family with the things they were doing ... happy to spend some time with them ... and ecstatic if the topic of God came up (eventually learned how to make that happen ... snicker, snicker) and even more ecstatic if the opportunity to tell someone who didn't know God about how much he loved them.
But that one simple statement ... it's not about you ... changed everything. All of a sudden it was about a life ... my life ... that God wanted to do something with ... and I felt less of a participant and more of an observer. It was as if God wanted control of my life ... to accomplish his purposes ... but whether I was part of it or not part of it ... really wasn't part of the equation. It wasn't about me ...
As I struggle now to get back to that child-like faith ... it makes me sad that people so casually throw out those statements that take away that innocence that is there in the beginning. I doubt it is intentional ... but those who say it have no idea the impact of those words.
Before I heard that statement ... I noticed things like the sky was really, really blue and the flowers and the colors in spring and fall were vibrant and full of life. I noticed things like how much God was very present in every day and every situation. In short, I noticed how much I mattered to him ... in very real and very practical everyday situations. I noticed how he protected me from people and I noticed ... no, felt how much he delighted in me ... just for being me. I didn't have to do anything to feel his love for me ... my existence brought delight.
But things changed when someone told me that "truth" that I suppose they felt inclined to share with a baby Christian who needed to grow up. When I served ... I didn't know that I was "serving God" ... I was just happy to help my new family with the things they were doing ... happy to spend some time with them ... and ecstatic if the topic of God came up (eventually learned how to make that happen ... snicker, snicker) and even more ecstatic if the opportunity to tell someone who didn't know God about how much he loved them.
But that one simple statement ... it's not about you ... changed everything. All of a sudden it was about a life ... my life ... that God wanted to do something with ... and I felt less of a participant and more of an observer. It was as if God wanted control of my life ... to accomplish his purposes ... but whether I was part of it or not part of it ... really wasn't part of the equation. It wasn't about me ...
As I struggle now to get back to that child-like faith ... it makes me sad that people so casually throw out those statements that take away that innocence that is there in the beginning. I doubt it is intentional ... but those who say it have no idea the impact of those words.
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