April 26, 2021: A Bird’s Eye View
“But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you” (Job 12:7, NIV).
Early one morning, before our 5-year-old triplets woke up, I found myself admiring a beautiful cardinal flying from tree to tree. It triggered a fond memory of how God sent me a woodpecker during my morning devotional. I smiled and whispered a prayer of thanksgiving for His watch and care over me then and now.
As I turned around, our children, who had apparently been there long enough to hear my prayer, greeted me. They asked me about God and His power. I noticed one of them got very quiet, then asked, “Mommy, do you think God would send us a bird?”
My heart smiled as my body became covered with goosebumps. I instantly knew that God was about to become real to them and that this experience would stay with them forever, if only they would believe. I asked, “Do you believe?” Immediately, they all chimed, “Yes!”
Before I prayed, I reminded them that “it’s not about God doing what we want; it’s about us trusting and believing that He is the Creator of the universe and that He is in control.” That day, I not only asked God to send a cardinal to the tree near our house, but to have it perch on a branch at my kids’ eye level.
As we opened our eyes, there sat a cardinal looking at us. They all gasped, as my eyes filled with tears of joy. Through a bird, they had just come face-to-face with God.
Father, thank You for using nature to teach our children life lessons. Amen.
Sonia Vazquez is a member of the Fredericksburg church in Virginia.
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