Saturday, May 23, 2009

Silly Birds

All week I've been watching the birds from my kitchen window. I had a hummingbird feeder set up (I just love watching hummingbirds), but lately orioles have been frequenting the hummingbird feeder too. Not only are the holes in the hummingbird feeder too small for the orioles to get their beaks all the way into; the feeder itself is not big enough for them to pirch on...so they would get a nice grip on the shepherds hook and then strain their neck to get to the hummingbird feeder. I like orioles. I like watching them and listening to their beautiful call; so I decided that I needed an oriole feeder. I bought a new oriole feeder, filled it with even stronger nectar than what the hummingbird feeder has. It's big, beautiful, clean, filled with better nectar..sounds great right?! Well...the orioles kept going right back to the hummingbird feeder. Look at this little guy straining his neck to get to the hummingbird feeder...



SILLY BIRDS!


There's something so much better waiting for you...if you only look UP!



All week I kept shaking my head at these little orioles thinking, "They're so beautiful, but not so bright." :)

They wouldn't even try it!

Now, I'm not a bird expert by any means, but I wondered, "Why?" I'm assuming that these little creatures are just like me...creatures of habit. They've been eating from the hummingbird feeder, it tastes pretty good and they were kind of use to straining their necks. OR maybe they looked at this new feeder and thought, "Hmmm...I'm not so sure about that. Looks kind of scary. I think I'll stay where I'm comfortable." (Not sure what birds think, but it sounds reasonable). OR maybe they just didn't think about it at all. They were just going about their day not even thinking there may be something better waiting for them.

So there it sat...full of strong, sugary nectar made just for them. It was better than anything they'd had. I'd already provided it for them. It would be much better, much easier. All they had to do was look up...and try it, but they didn't.

I wonder how many times God has been watching me shaking His head as I "strain my neck" doing things my own way. Maybe He thinks, "I know I made her, but she's not so bright." :)

He's made a way for me, given me all the resources in the world, provided the way; yet I sit right where I'm comfortable "straining my neck" and wondering why things aren't going better for me. I'm a creature of habit going back to what I know...instead of what He has for me. I make it so much harder for myself than what it really has to be. All I have to do is look UP, believe and take hold of His promises for my life. Something much better is waiting right there for me to grab on to!


"Seek His will in all you do, and he will direct your paths." Proverbs 3:6


Yesterday, I decided to remove the hummingbird feeder for the day to see what would happen. The orioles finally tried their own feeder. They must have recognized the error of their ways because today the orioles have been feasting from their own feeder all day...and the hummingbirds from theirs.





Things are finally as they were meant to be!

2 comments:

  1. This whole adventure sounds like something you'd watch on a PBS show or something. I love watching birds - we have a feeder in our back yard and a little house where 2 bluebirds return every winter and lay eggs. So much fun to watch them!

    I guess when God removes our crutches we're forced to look up, right? Just like His little birds.

    Sweet post, Rachel. Hoping your week is just as it's meant to be. :)

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  2. Oh I love orioles too! At my in-laws farm, there are several pairs of them, and they were flying over my head all day today. Thanks for hopping by and leaving a comment on my site. The devotional I mentioned is paired really, really well with Peter Scazzero's "Emotionally Healthy Spirituality." The devotional is meant as a companion to the other book.
    I hope you enjoy it!
    OH! I see that you have a "She Speaks" button. I am going this year! My first time... I found out about it within about a week of it last year, and greedily read anything I found on other's blogs about it! I can't wait to get there this year.

    Again, thanks for stopping by, and I will be back for sure! This story was great... how often we try to keep doing things as we always do and forget to look up, around or try something new.
    God bless,
    Heather

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