It’s For The Birds

Part of Holy Interruptions

I never thought I’d say this, but sitting on my back porch this morning listening to and watching the birds changed something in me. Not in a dramatic, lightning-bolt kind of way. More like the quiet kind of change that God uses with me. You know, the kind that sneaks up on you when you’re not looking and not trying to make anything happen.

I wasn’t studying. I wasn’t praying out loud. I was just…sitting, drinking my morning beverage (protein water today, don't judge me). Watching. Listening. Letting the morning be what it was.

What I heard first and foremost were the birds. They showed up. Even louder and more prominent than the traffic noise from the freeway (which is very close).

Now, if you’d told me a year ago that I’d consider writing a whole series about birds and Scripture…well, let’s just say laughing would have been an understatement. It’s for the birds – and I mean that in the most classic, dismissive way the phrase was ever intended. Worthless. Trivial. Not worth your time. Easy to ignore.

Which is ironic, because God apparently didn’t think birds were trivial at all. They’re all over the Bible. Who knew? And they’re not just background decoration. They’re intentional illustrations of some of Scripture’s most profound truths: provision. Presence. Worth. Freedom. Worship. Renewal.

God apparently had a lot to say about birds. And maybe – just maybe – He still does.

I’m not a theologian. I’m not a pastor. I’m not even a scholar. I’m just a woman who sat on her porch, watched and listened to the birds, and started asking questions.

What I found surprised me. It might just surprise you too.

This series – Holy Interruptions – is exactly what it sounds like. Real observations. Real Scripture. Real life. Just God’s interruptions in my everyday life. He’ll interrupt us, whether we’re ready or not. The trick is learning to listen.

This morning I started pulling on one thread — birds on my back porch — and found them woven through Scripture from Genesis to Revelation. Job. Psalms. Proverbs. Song of Solomon. The Gospels. Turns out God has been using birds to teach His people something for a very long time. I'm just the latest student.

It is what happens when I let the noise die down long enough to notice what God has been whispering to me…right in the middle of life.

So grab your coffee. Find your perch. God's been saying something all along. I'm just finally slowing down enough to hear it.

This is Post 1 of my “It’s for the Birds” series, the first series of my Holy Interruptions blogs. Every post in this series is intended to begin with something I noticed...and end with something God is trying to show me. Next up: Chase and the Sparrows — what my dog accidentally taught me about the way God prepares provision before the danger even arrives.