LOOK TO THE BIRDS

Listening to the birds and watching the squirrels. Florida living. 

There is nothing like waking up early in the morning to experience the stillness of the day. The quiet that permeates throughout the neighborhood. The slowness by which everyone moves seems to be everywhere. As I sit on the back patio of my home here in Florida I am reminded of the coolness of the morning. The threat of rain doesn't even begin to dampen the spirit of the squirrels playing in my yard nor does it silence the singing of the birds in the trees. They each have awaken to the same morning I have, with the same tasks, yet they play and sing.  Kind of like the seven dwarfs from Snow White whistling while they work.

They have work to accomplish much like me. They have nuts to gather and worms to collect. The other day I saw a hawk flying with a large clump of Spanish moss in her beak to add to the family nest. A pretty cool sight to say the least. Soon she will be laying eggs, protecting them from the elements and then off to find food once her babies enter the world. Yet they sing. They play. How can this be? How can they do this when there is work to be done? Responsibilities to be taken care off? I think there instincts keep it all in perspective so they have a song.

Jesus, himself, mentions this when discussing worry. He says, “Do not be anxious for your life, as to what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; not for your body, as to what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?” (Matthew 7:25-26 NASB). So they sing and play.

Have you ever noticed how much happier you are on vacation? There are no worries, no boss breathing down your neck and there is a song in your heart. OK, maybe not the song part, but you are generally happier, right? Why is that? Simple, you aren't worrying, you are living. You have a weight lifted. Life can be pretty heavy at times with schedules to keep at work and often times at home. There is many a morning I look at my “to do list” and just feel overwhelmed. Too many times my “To Do List” becomes my “Things I want to do but didn't list” and it tends to get longer. But I think for first time in my life I have actually “looked at the birds.” I have seen that responsibilities and work needs to get done but it isn't all there is. There is singing and playing to be had.

So as I continue to watch the squirrels and listen to the birds, life comes into a better perspective. There is still much to do on my list of what needs accomplished this week but why should I worry about it. As I take each one on it will get accomplished and I will celebrate with playing or singing (don’t worry there is no one around for me to torture with my lack of ability).

As I enter 2015 I will look at the birds and the squirrels. Perhaps you would like to join me.