|
|
A sparrow landed in the parking lot with a beak full of grass.
It began sorting the strands, tossing them all about. Finally, the
little bird stretched its neck to full height and pulled out one long strand
of dried grass. Then the sparrow flew off with the single strand
dangling behind. The next day to my surprise I again saw the sparrow
in the parking lot. This time it was pulling apart a big ball of
fuzz, a dust ball, that had blown free from a mop. The sparrow went
through the same antics it had done the day before, tugging, sorting, and
tossing until at last the dust ball yielded exactly the right amount of
fuzz. Then the sparrow flew off with a sense of joy and triumph in
its flight. The sparrow found what it was looking for. It knew
exactly which strand of grass it needed and how much fuzz was enough.
God endowed this little nest builder with the determination to believe
that it could be found. I think that the God who told the sparrow
what it needed and convinced it that what it needed could be found is the
same God who whispers into our hearts what we most truly need in our lives.
Our problem is that we are not always convinced that what we need can be
found and sometimes we stop believing and stop seeking. We start
settling for things as if any ball of fuzz will do. The joy and triumph
of living returns when we allow ourselves to accept and trust that the
God of the sparrow has also arranged our lives so that we can find what
we most truly need. All we have t do is have enough faith and determination
to seek. It is in the sorting and the tossing out that we discover
we already have been given what we need. The sparrow is witness that
it works. --H.S.
|