A Mess or a Blessing?

“Open your mouth and taste,
open your eyes and see--how good GOD is.
Blessed are you who run to him.”
Psalm 34:8 (The Message)

My summer women’s Bible study group is doing John Eldredge’s book Waking The Dead. The recurring theme of the book is seeing with the eyes of your heart, being aware of the battle the enemy wages all around you and learning to live in the full power and glory of a Christ follower. I have been uncovering nuggets of truth and revelation all summer and have felt a bit pleased with myself that I am really “getting” the message of this book. Ah smugness, what a fleeting thing! After returning home a few weeks ago from a 10-day trip to Southern California to visit family, I was anxious to be home in our little slice of heaven in the Northwest. I was chomping at the bit to get home, give the “fab four” (our feline family members) a big hug and then don my stunning gardening ensemble and tend to the front and back yard.

Arriving home I did just that, working through the mental list of tasks, watering flowers, refilling bird and squirrel feeders and pulling an errant weed or two. I finished with a great sense of accomplishment, until I rounded the side of the house where I noticed a bunch of “junk" in the splash pad under the downspout by our dining room window. What a mess!

Tangled dried grass, red pods from a tree behind our back fence and other items I could not immediately identify, all soggy from the previous day’s shower. Yuck! I quickly got to work, cleaning up that unsightly pile that was a blot on my beautiful landscape! I dumped the soggy mess in the trash thinking, “Good riddance to that rubbish!”

Later that day as I walked down the driveway, my next-door neighbor greeted me and welcomed me home. He looked up and toward the side of our house, and said, “Looks like you’ve got a nice nest there.” “Huh?” I replied. “Yeah, he said, “my wife and I watched her struggling to build it while you were gone. No need to worry about where she built it, the nest is fine there and won't damage the gutter."

I followed his gaze and sure enough, a little mother robin was ensconced in a tightly woven and lovely nest that rested in the crook of the gutter by our dining room window. That mess I had been so annoyed about was a large part of her nest that hadn’t made it through the final stages of her building project.

What a life lesson for me! Evidently my summer Bible study had not made as much of an impact on my spirit as it should have. Instead of looking up and seeing (and being thankful for) all of God’s glory and enjoying the bird and her nest, I walked with my eyes to the ground, only seeing what was right in front of my nose and making assumptions about what I saw. In a magical instant, the “mess” I had grumbled about had become a beautiful part of God’s creation, something to enjoy and marvel at.

Dear Lord, let every little bird that wings its way past me, remind me of that nest and the glory in Your creation. Allow me to always see with the eyes of my heart the beauty and miracles that surround me every day. Help me to keep my head high, my eyes upward and my life a reflection of the beauty that You allow me to see.”