“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.  Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?  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?  Can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”  Matthew 6:26-27

Just the other evening the little bird, pictured above, managed to find its way into our house.  It’s not the first time we had a little winged friend take a wrong turn into our house…it’s actually the second.  You’d have thought it was an overgrown grizzly bear-by the sound of my screams.

As it fluttered, in fear, around our house-I ran to and from screaming (in fear).  It was clear to me that the little bird was scared–he knew he didn’t belong in our house.  He knew where he had been, moments earlier, was a far better fit for his lifestyle!  You could really see the fear in the way he bounced around our house.  We tried desperately to shoo the little guy out the front door.  It was wide open…waiting to usher the little bird back to where he belonged.

Eventually, after many failed attempts on both our parts and minutes that felt like months, he flew out the front door.  As I was cleaning up the fallout of our bird fiasco, I couldn’t help but think about how gracious God is with us.  He tends to our needs.  He directs our paths.  He leaves the front door of mercy wide open-and too-waits patiently for our decision.  Scripture makes it clear that if we first seek Him, He will take care of our needs.

I take a lot of detours in my walk.  I journey into relationships that I don’t know how to navigate, say things that don’t bring life, harbor emotions that lead me away from grace, and worry about issues outside of my control (aren’t they all?).  I have a master’s degree in worry.  Yet, scripture addresses this frame of mind often…and each time with the same phrase, “do not worry“.  Worry robs my life of proper perspective, and puts my ability to trust on the balance.

That cute little bird just needed to trust that we were “shoo”ing him in the right direction.  We wanted his good all along.  How much more so with God?  Today, in spite of my limited perspective, I choose to trust Him.  To wait and watch for the open door, and to walk along in hope because He cares for me.

“Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.”  1 Peter 5:7

“And if God cares so wonderfully for the wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you.  Why do you have so little faith?” Matthew 6:30