Snatch

And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:19

"Almost got it!" I heard my 9-year-old cousin exclaim as he reached toward the bird nest in the corner of my great grandmother's old barn. He teetered on top of a pile of old boxes and bricks as he stretched his arm as far as it would go.

"Just a little higher!" my big sister encouraged.

And, about that time, the nest came crashing down, with three baby birds nestled inside. There was one for each of us. With all of our excitement over our new pets, you would've thought that someone had just given us a million dollars!

We gingerly plucked our babies out of the nest and examined them closely for any injury from the fall. I remember we played with those things all day long. We dreamed of teaching them to fly and deliver messages to people all over the globe.

Our dreams were just beginning to turn to reality, when, our antics were suddenly discovered. This was just one of many summer days when we were under the "watchful" care of our great-grandmother. We were devastated when she wouldn't let us take our birds in the house. In spite of our attempts to negotiate, she insisted that we leave them outside when we went in for lunch.

Regretfully, we placed them carefully in the grass, assuring them we would swiftly return. We gobbled down our fried chicken, mashed potatoes, fried okra, and cornbread (staying with an old southern woman had its perks!), and then we raced out the door to check on our birdy babies.

We were horrified at the site! Our birds had been attacked by fire ants, and they were struggling to stay alive. Even though, we tried with all of our might, we were unable to rescue them. The situation was hopeless, and the birds didn't survive.

Our great-grandmother was quick to use the situation to teach us a lesson. She told us that we didn't know how to take care of baby birds, but their mother knew exactly what to do, and we should have left them to her care.

As I was considering God's care this morning, this story quickly flooded my thoughts. There are so many elements of my life that I'm quick to snatch out of the nest, so that I can raise them, grow them, and develop them.

How much better would things fair, if I simply left these things to God to raise up, grow up, and develop? How many times do I grab something out of the nest before God's done nurturing its growth?

Who would've thought that a somewhat innocent act of stealing baby birds from a nest would speak God's truth to me over twenty years later? God is so faithful to teach and train in righteousness, if only we will listen.

Father, thank you for working in my life. Help me to leave things untouched, so that you might nurture me to spiritual maturity.

Lindsey Pond