What a difference a day makes! A good night sleep can take a gray world and paint a rainbow.
When I awakened this morning, I set the coffee pot to brew and opened the blind in the kitchen window. Immediately, I noticed that the bird bath was frozen over with a thick sheet of ice, and the bird feeder was empty. My little feathered friends would surely be looking for grub on this cold, January morning. I put on my coat and slippers, and went out to fill the feeder. It usually takes the birds awhile to find the seed once the feeder has gone empty, but this morning they flocked to the tree, just as soon as I closed the back door. It brought a smile to my face to know that through me, God was providing for these hungry little birds. I sat, sipped my piping hot coffee, and watched with awe through the window as an assortment of birds came to feed.
This brought to mind one of my favorite passages in the gospel of Matthew: “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? “ (Matthew 6:26) St. Augustine once said, “God loves each of us, as if there were only one of us.” How much do we trust Matthew’s words? How many times do we doubt God’s love for us – or that He will provide?
My husband and I experienced the great stress of unemployment when Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana in 2005. There were days that my faith waned, and I was literally scared to death that we would not be able to pay our bills. I have to tell you, in all honesty, that God always provided. Many times, He would come through at the last minute – when there were only a few bucks left in our checking account – but He ALWAYS came through for us.
The secret – there is no secret. It all comes down to trust. As followers of Christ, we have to put God first in our lives. We have to pray to discern His Will in every decision – both big and small. Then we simply have to TRUST that He does love us as though we were His only child, and KNOW in our hearts that He will provide. That isn’t easy. BELIEVE me, I know! It’s a commitment that has to be renewed daily – especially in times of great difficulty.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.” Proverbs 3:5
Recommended viewing for households with small children (and even “kids at heart”): Veggie Tales “Gideon Tuba Warrior” DVD
