Baby Bluebirds When Prayers Are Unanswered

Indigo and Baby Bluebird, ready for food.

My first prayer was that they were still alive and they were. The second was that God would send Mr. and Mrs. Bluebird (either the birth parents, or willing adoptive parents) to take care of these remaining two babies that became known as Indigo and Baby. I prayed with full faith that He could answer. I waited but, no Bluebirds came.

I had already rescued the unconscious and nearly dead babes (see Blue Birds and Worm Soup blog here) from certain death, gave them some protection and nourishment but, they needed parents to teach them bluebird things, a mentor for bluebird life. I continued to pray several times with full expectation of Mr. and Mrs. B showing up while I waited and watched. Watching and waiting even with full faith doesn’t force God to act. He acts according to His will and according to His purpose and I am thankful He does. My job is to be obedient, even when He asks me to go out of my comfort zone and into the Bluebird zone.

One prayer answered, another one not – at least not the way I wanted. That leaves me in the Bluebird raising business. As their temporary mentor, I have to brag on them a bit. Yesterday they were unable to hold up their own heads and about to give up on life, but today they are eager to live and can raise their heads and chirp big, strong chirps that would make a Bluebird Mom proud.

In order to establish some sort of communication, I rehearsed my all my best Bluebird chirps, and found one they recognized. They didn’t even laugh at my practice tries, at least not to my face – there were some unexplained and quite suspicious peeps back and forth - but I never brought it up, and they were far too polite to mention it.

When I whistled my amateur chirp, they opened their eyes, raised their little heads, stretched their skinny necks four inches upward and opened their beaks wide enough for me to see their plum down (Southern for “all the way”) to their gizzards with expectation of  delicious mealworm snacks. Somehow they were able to chirp with open beaks. I haven’t tried that one yet, but these talented little birds are experts at it, another proud moment. Of course, I got the message and rewarded their gizzards.

They now recognized me as “the chirper” who gives them food. I could walk by them, talk to them, the dog could bark, and thunder cold rumble but, until I chirped my special little chirp – they stayed down low with heads down, eyes closed, dreaming little bird dreams until mealtime. They trusted me to feed them and protect them.

With my prayer unanswered, I was given a marvelous opportunity to be a part of two little lives. I didn’t give them life, but I helped them find a way to live. I found a way to meet their needs and earn their trust.  Leaders do that. They look for new opportunities to meet needs and build trust, giving without expectation of reward, but finding reward in the development of another life.

Christ was like that. He left heaven, and sought us in our needs. He found ways to teach us so that we could understand His ways, and have life. How grateful I am that He took time to reach out to me, while I was lost and dying without a means for life. How grateful I am that He desires me to have life enough to give of Himself in order for me to have it. How grateful I am that He has made Himself known to me as the “giver of life and the giver of all spiritual nourishment.”

Many are lost and dying from lack of spiritual nourishment. As a follower of Christ, (“Christian” = little Christ) it seems that we should imitate Him. We might pray that He send someone to help the lost, but He might answer instead that we are who He wants to send. We might have to step out into unknown territory to those who don’t look like we do, or speak the way we do, or live the way we do. Often we will need to develop a relationship of trust before they are willing to accept what we have to offer. A good way to start is to speak words they understand instead of “churchy” language that may not be easily understood, or may be misunderstood. Building relationships like that allows for a mentor to lead with the kind of leadership that changes lives.

What can we do? I'm so glad you asked! I just happen to have some ideas.

1. Pray before you act and be willing to accept the answer, it may become a great blessing.
2. Recognize that you can make a difference – even if you think you can’t.
3. Establish good communication and engage frequently.
4. Building trust takes time, invest.
5. Be known as the giver of spiritual nourishment, and dish it out with joy and compassion.
6. Give thanks to God in all the small steps, they can be the beginning of a great journey.

Father in heaven, we are so very thankful to be able to know You hear our prayers. We thank You for answering in our best interest, whether we understand or not.

Help us to recognize the opportunities You present for us to help others. Give us the courage to step into the world of someone who needs to see You. Strengthen us so that our hearts will always be grateful in every circumstance and that we can share the life-giving Word of Truth with those who so desperately need it.

I have learned that instead of asking God why He doesn't do something, to consider that He placed me here. Maybe that was His answer. Maybe I am to do something...Listen to this song and ask God what He wants YOU to do today.

Read part 3 of Baby and Indigo's story here.


Matthew West 
"Do Something"

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Bluebird Graduation

Bluebird Graduation.

It has been a sweet sight to watch Mr. and Mrs. Bluebird prepare their home and take care of their precious babies. They built a dandy nest, and she laid lovely little eggs. Mrs. B sat and sat until they finally hatched, with Mr. B keeping a close eye on her and their home. He brought her birdie take-out meals and fearlessly protected their home from intruding birds.

They have worked tirelessly together to feed these newly hatched little ones for over a week. Now, it seems that it must be graduation time, except they haven’t been able to convince the babies to leave the nest. They come to the nest with mouths full of yummy worms, dangle them in front of the babes then turn and leave with their mouths still full – bird bribery of sorts. “Time to grow-up kids. You aren’t helpless anymore!” seems to be the message.

While it was sweet and cute to watch them take care of the helpless chicks, it is now time for the parents to administer a little tough love. It would be foolish for them to spend the rest of their lives feeding their children who were fully grown and capable of feeding themselves. Their job is to instruct, and the baby’s jobs are to learn and grow, then both parents and children are to do.

Perhaps we can learn from their example.

• When we are children, we are expected to behave as children. 1 Corinthians 3:1,2 http://blb.sc/0Hl7 speaks of giving babes milk and likewise new Christians spiritual milk before either is ready for solid food. It is an important time of growth, trust, and learning that leads to maturity.

• There is a time to listen and learn.  Make sure you are listening and learning the truth in order to grow in it. The Word of God is the one source of truth on which you can totally rely. People make mistakes, His Word does not. http://blb.sc/4Tjd 1 Thessalonians 2:13

• Growth is expected.  We buy baby clothes with the expectation of replacing them as the child grows, and often proudly mark the progress on growth charts. We celebrate each graduation from pre-K to college as we watch them move forward in growth and maturity.  Likewise, as Christians “we are no longer to be children…we are to grow up in all aspects into…Christ.” http://blb.sc/4Sgp Ephesians 4:14,15.

• Imitate the godly leaders. As the bluebirds want their babies to follow their example, children often like to imitate their parents, the good and the bad habits. When we find godly examples though, they are worth following.  Watch someone who is committed to serving God in good times and in hard times. Walk alongside them to learn. That is behavior worth imitating. http://blb.sc/4Ti3  1Thessalonians 1:6.

• Keep growing. Excel still more in every aspect of your life, http://blb.sc/4Tqc1 Thessalonians 4:1. There will be graduations from level to level, but there is always room for growth.

• Be a good example. Someone may be imitating you today. How to be a good example from http://blb.sc/F2SZ 1 Thessalonians 5:11-15:

1. encourage one another,
2. build up one another,
3. appreciate your teachers,
4. live in peace with one another,
5. admonish (warn) the unruly,
6. encourage the fainthearted,
7. help the weak,
8. be patient with all,
9. do not repay evil with evil,
10. always seek after that which is good for one another and for all men.

Dearest Father in heaven, when we see the birds teach their young, we realize how much more You want to teach us the things we need for life and life everlasting. Help us to let go of the things which keep us as children, and be diligent to learn more and more, being good examples to those who follow.

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Fun, Faith, and (Super Bowl) Football

Ready for the Big Game?

The Game.  It is coming!  The preparations have been ongoing for months, even years.  Some players have trained from their youth for this very day, hopeful of a ring, trophy, and the monetary rewards from their achievement. 

Their daily habits during this time have included strength training, studying their opponent, studying their game plans, listening to their coach, eating proper foods for health and nutrition, and enduring a string of preliminary games.  They are the two remaining teams from a great number of players eliminated throughout the process.  There will be viewers from around the globe watching every move.  Even the commercials are highly anticipated and costly for this event.

My thoughts of a game include ‘fun”, so it is hard for me to imagine the fun of being hit, perhaps injured, trash-talked, and facing an opponent who wants me to lose.  I understand the fun of achievement, but just don’t have the competitive urge to "win" at the cost of someone else losing.  Obviously, it’s just me, because so many enjoy it. So, I’ll not belabor the point, or criticize your competitive spirit.   

While I may be lacking the competition gene, I have certainly noticed a correlation to the preparations of these athletes, and the life of a Christian.  From the moment we become a child of God, the focus of our lives change. Our lives focus on an “end-game” which dictates all our “in-between games”.   We will not be distracted by things or forces that encourage us to go against our goal.   We leave behind the things in our lives that deter our progress toward reaching the end game (even though they provide a temporary “fun”) and we take up new habits.  We learn to press on, for the goal, the prize being the upward call of God in Christ Jesus!  We will endure the training process with joy, knowing our reward will far outweigh our times of testing here.

1) Our coach is perfect in every way.  He knows us far better than we even know ourselves.  He knows the position we need to play and how to bring out the best in us for that unique position.  He knows our every strength and weakness, and teaches us how to develop the talents He has given us.  He pushes and pulls us into shape for the game, by building our strength and endurance bit by bit.  We can fully trust Him to act in our best interest, and thus never need to question what He asks us to do. 

2) We must study our plays and game plan.  We have a definite offence and defense.  We need learn how to use them correctly.  He has given us a vast playbook that includes the many who have gone before us.  Some failed miserably, some excelled.  We can learn from that.  Our book also includes glimpses into the end game and its rewards that follow.  We also see within it, the result of our failure to submit to the coach and his instructions and the eternal consequences following that disobedience. 

3) Studying our opponent is also highly valuable.  We recognize our Coach who teaches us the truth, but we also find our opponent is an adversary and will “trash talk” us into believing something that is not true or that distracts us from our job and final goal.  Opponents will try to outmaneuver us, overpower us, and drain our strength.  Our job is to be well trained enough to overcome their efforts, and finish strong. 

4) If we are to be strong enough to do that, we have to fill ourselves with proper nutrition.  Feeding on trivial pursuits, or junk food will not build strength and faith.  Our race is hard, filling ourselves with His Word will give us the strength we need for the training.

Vast crowds are cheering on the players.  Some are on the sidelines, some are in the stands and some are watching from screens far away.  We too are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses.  We have those near and far watching our struggles and cheer us on.  In turn, we should be cheering and encouraging others in the arena too! We offer praise to participants and the coach.  Go! You can do it!  You have been trained and equipped!  Play your best!  Go for the goal!

Father, 

we thank You for choosing us.  

We thank You for equipping us and training us.  

Thank You for showing us everything we need 

to reach the end game as winners of the greatest prize.  

Help us to fix our eyes on the goal and 

run the race with endurance, 

mindful that many are watching.  

Help us follow Your instructions carefully and fully 

as we seek to fill the position in which You have placed us and 

for which You have created us.  

We know that with You as our coach and trainer, 

nothing will overcome us!

 In Jesus' name, Amen.

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