Shelter

“he who dwells in the shadow of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty… HE will cover you with his feathers, and under hIs wings you will find refuge.” psalm 91:1, 4a

i love the early morning.

the silence of it all… the mystery of the newness… the very pregnant possibilities of it all.

problem is i love the very late night too(!)

its silent heaviness…

still figuring out that puzzle. :)

this morning, i woke up before the sun in one of my favorite locations on the planet… at scott and lois’s comfortable cottage on the lake.

the air is crisp, the sky is huge, and who doesn’t love to rest their eyes on the expanse of waters rippling on the autumn morning wind?

i make my tea, find my quiet floor space in a lonely corner, and by the dawning light through the window i quiet my heart and mind and -

tap.

tap tap tap

tap! tap tap tap!

i get up to investigate…

there’s a fluffy little bird outside my window, sitting on the sill persistently pecking at the glass. tilting its head. pecking some more. tucking its puffy head under its wing…

immediately my brain goes to the psalm i was reading…

immediately my heart wants to open the window and pick up my new friend and find a warm corner in one of the many rooms here! but my better reasoning reminds me that i am not francis of assisi and things probably wouldn’t work out so well…

so i stay on the thought of this little creature on the sill.

does it need something?

does it just like the window?

did it lose its family?

is it surprised by the sudden briskness of this morning?

can they even fit emotions into those tiny little brains?

does it need shelter?

funny. funny how a human mind works… thinking about the needs and welfare of a tiny bird on the sill.

“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?” matthew 6: 26

when my grown up beautiful children were still peanut punkins,

i would sing a particular song to them every night…

to quiet them down.

to calm our fearful hearts…

“... his eye is on the sparrow and i know he watches me…”

shelter. we all need it.

we find ourselves in unfamiliar places sometimes.

caught unprepared by the shift in the weather.

maybe a little panicked.

definitely a little lonely.

trying to protect ourselves

as best we know how.