If you have never been birdwatching, today just may be the day to start!
Birding, or what most of us call "birdwatching," is the fastest-growing outdoor activity in America. According to a survey by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 51.3 million Americans report that they watch birds. For the serious birder there are field guides, birder’s vests, birding software, birdbaths, bird binoculars and even bird stories on bird blogs to warm your beating heart.
I am not much of a birdwatcher. I can spot Crows and Cardinals, Big Bird and Woody The Woodpecker. That's about it!
Okay, there are no birder vests in my closet, but far be it from me to knock the millions of birders. Their numbers include two very important people: my mom and Jesus. Mom has been a birder for years. She has watched them, fed them, and painted them. In her unassuming way she has taught me to see them. Jesus, on the other hand, has helped me to learn from them:
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 one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matthew 6:26-27; 31-33 NLT)
I don’t know if Jesus’ disciples shared my ignorance about birds, but I do know we share a common problem called worry. As I follow their journey through the pages of Scripture, I watch them fret.
Jesus saw this too, so he took them birding. His lesson was simple, but his implication was profound: "If God cares for the birds -- and he does -- don't you think that he will take care of you?"
What has you anxious today? Why not take a few minutes to go birdwatching with Jesus? You heavenly Father takes care of the birds . . . He will certainly take care of you.