Wednesday, February 15, 2017

                So, in the middle of the snowstorm on Sunday, I was outside and heard a robin chirping away. I could imagine that he/she was tweeting out his/her displeasure with its Florida travel agent. “Sure, you want to go north a little early? No problem. I have it on good authority that none other than that great weather expert, Wiarton Willie, predicted an early spring. You’ll be fine. Have a safe trip.” (Now, why anyone would trust a fat rodent who is afraid of his own shadow, I don’t know.) I expect the worms are wriggling in glee, nice and safe in their warm earth.  

Maybe, he/she is just a Canadian robin, and is showing how tough he/she is by spending the whole winter here. But I have got to tell you that if my basic, natural instinct was compelling me to fly south for the winter, my little birdy suitcase would be packed and I’d catch the first, warm breeze south.

We find ourselves more often than we would like to admit in circumstances beyond our control. Some people gather “winter storms” like they were Joe Btfsplk, a character from the old comic strip Li’l Abner. (Recalling that just shows how old I am becoming!) Joe always had a cloud over his head. Some people are accident prone. Some folk have continuous bad luck. Some people never seem to get a break. Some individuals are always in trouble. Some persons fight lifetime chronic illnesses. All of us face seasons in which life takes a tumble and it’s hard to get back up. Hope may spring eternal but it can be a very dim light at the end of a very long tunnel.

Maybe, the robin was pouring his complaint to his Creator in its own birdy way, just as we will do when spiritual, emotional, physical winter comes upon us. “My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God,” (Psalm 84:2).  C‘mon, God, I’m hanging on by my fingernails here. It’s cold, slippery, nasty, and I’m hungry and want to get in out of the icy wind. “Hear my prayer, Lord; let my cry for help come to you,” (Psalm 102:1).  

There are still berries on many trees and bushes that will help the robin survive. Maybe a birdfeeder here and there. Shelter will be in some dense hedge or towering pine tree. We have a friend who has a bird bath filled with clean water for the birds to drink. She has had a flock of robins at it this winter. This might not exactly be the answer to his/her tweets, “Lord, give me spring and give it to me now!” but there is every likelihood that the robin will survive until spring does come.

Our prayers for respite, relief, comfort, wellbeing, security, and renewal may be answered through many sources. People come to our aid and help. Casseroles are made. Kind words are spoken.  Visits are made. Guidance is given. A church steps up and provides meals for the homeless and hungry. A church offers community and welcome for the stranger and the strangest.  Outsiders become included.  Grace is given. Forgiveness is generously applied. People find shelter in the kindness of others. The list goes on and on. This is sacred work going on. We are not alone or abandoned.

God has answered our prayers even though winter winds seem to be shredding our hopes and whipping our confidence away. “None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I'm absolutely convinced that nothing - nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable - absolutely nothing can get between us and God's love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us,” (Romans 8: 37 39, The Message)

Hang in there, all you winter robins out there; God’s listening and is figuring it out.

Dale