I am a man of faith. That does not mean I am superstitious,
but rather that I believe in an Almighty God who is sovereign over all of
creation. Superstition implies such things as “luck” and other random occurrences
outside of the parameters of expected events. Faith, on the other hand, implies
trusting in the nature of a loving Creator whose ways and actions are not
always readily evident – but rather rely on belief for acceptance.
God’s nature is beyond our understanding and is therefore by definition “above nature” or “supernatural”. This is where many people
confuse faith and superstition, but I will not labor on that point anymore or
else risk making this post overly boring.
I believe that God is capable of speaking to us, His
creation, in any form He chooses. I believe that this communication at one time
was audible speech as recorded in the Holy Bible. I believe that while God
certainly could speak audibly to us now, he chooses not to for reasons that His
wisdom conceals. We may hear His subtle voice privately in our ears or we may receive
messages from Him via sermons or music that He has inspired in other people. He
may also choose to speak to us in myriad other ways, as situations demand and
His decisions dictate.
I say all of the above in an attempt to lay a foundation for
what I am about to share. If I were to read what I am about to write without
some kind of context and without familiarity with the author, I would conclude
that it was written by a deranged or possibly dishonest individual. I hope you
think I am neither of those things, even after you read this.
Here goes.
I walk my sixty-pound mutt of a dog every day before dawn.
As we approach the warmer months, the tail end of my walk usually sees the sun
start to light the morning sky. It’s a quiet time and much of my walk takes me
through a wooded area in my neighborhood bereft of houses on both sides. I
always use the time I am walking in this area to conduct my morning prayers. I
call out to God and thank Him for allowing me to live in His grace on His good,
green earth. I thank Him for the privilege of approaching His throne with my
petty, and sometimes selfish, petitions. I express my gratitude for His one and
only Son who suffered, bled, died and rose again to give me the key to the
throne room itself. I follow this introductory thanks with a simple outpouring of my daily
concerns.
My prayers of late have been centered around direction. What
does God want me to do with the remainder of my years? My kids are getting
older. I need to help them make the transition to adulthood. How should I
counsel them? How should I help get them ready for college and what lies
beyond? How should I be investing my time so that my wife and I have a
profitable and enjoyable life after the nest is empty? What kind of career
choices should I be making? These are all questions that are too large for me
to tackle alone. I ask for help. I ask for whispers in my ear from the Holy Spirit.
I ask for discernment so that I can tell the difference between those whispers
and the shouting of voices from the world. Such was my prayer today – April 28th,
2016. I ended it with the usual invocation of the name of Jesus and continued
on my walk.
As I walked, I became aware of a light rustling in the
bushes to my left. Suddenly, a female cardinal fluttered out of the greenery,
flew directly across my path (only inches from me) and landed in the street to
my right. She cocked her head, emitted a light chirp and then flew away. “What
a pretty little bird,” I thought to myself as I resumed my walk. I often encounter birds, deer, armadillos, opossums and other wildlife on my strolls, but this
little bird practically brushed across my chest.
I arrived back at my house, put the dog away, got in my car,
drove my daughter to school and then made my usual twelve-mile commute through
Pinellas County to my office. I pulled into a space at the back of the parking
lot and turned off the ignition. Immediately, a fiery red male cardinal landed
on my passenger side window sill and thumped the glass with his wings.
Startled, I looked over at him. He chirped softly and then flew to a tree right
next to my car. He sat there for about a minute looking at me before flying
away and out of sight.
So…
Is this merely odd coincidence or an attempt to get my
attention? Sadly, I’m too thick-headed to readily grasp the meaning (or
non-meaning) of these avian encounters; however, I have resigned myself to this much. I believe that these little birds did have a message for me. I don’t
know if there’s more to their message or how deep it goes, but I’m convinced
that at the very least my Heavenly Father sent me a feathered receipt for my
prayerful deposit this morning. I spoke. He heard me. He then told me that He
heard me in a way He hoped I would understand. For that I am thankful. I am
hopeful. I wait upon His will in my life and I am ready to do my part in it.
And here’s the best part – for you at least. If Almighty God
takes the time to send two little birds to comfort a lowly child like me, then
surely He cares for you. He hears you. He listens. He responds. He loves you. Two little birds told me.
