Yesterday, I was walking around my yard and noticed a baby bird flit down onto my driveway.  I walked over to it, and it tried to fly a short distance along the ground.  I called the kids outside so they could see the tiny little bird, and both were very concerned. They looked frantically for a nest.  None was found.  The little bird just crouched helplessly in the grass, hoping we wouldn’t hurt it.  It didn’t even chirp.

One of my kids pleaded with me to bring it in the house to care for it.  I insisted that we were not equipped to care for the little bird, and that our best efforts would most likely kill him.  A friend of mine, who was coming for a visit, drove up right about this time, and we prayed for this little bird to fly away.  When my son checked on it about an hour later, it was gone.

Several hours later, we were outside and noticed a goldfinch hanging around, even though we were all very close and making quite a bit of noise. It was the mama bird teaching that baby bird how to fly! The kids and I got to watch as it repeatedly flew over to it and then back. It was constantly chirping and encouraging the little bird to keep trying.  At one point it even flew over to the little bird and fed it.  The baby bird continued to follow, but only flew short distances at a time.  But it was flying, and the kids were able to see that it was going to be Ok.

The Holy Spirit had reminded me that, even though we wanted to help, this was a situation that we could not provide what was needed.  We needed to trust that little bird to the Lord, rather than intervene out of human compassion.  We were obedient, and the Lord was faithful to care for it.  Not only that, He wanted us to SEE that He was caring for it.  He wanted us to see that the little bird was growing and learning.  If the God of the universe, the Lamb of God, cares for that little bird, how much more does he care for us?

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” - Matthew 10:29-31