The Sign of the Blue Birds

"If you'll sneak up on them and sprinkle some salt on their tails, you can catch 'em".

We had moved to our new home only months before and the girls and their daddy were watching all of the birds in our back yard and the connecting field.

Our 5 year old Daughter # 1, loved birds and the thought of catching one was very intriguing to her. So, out came the salt shaker and the chase was on.

Daughter #1 has always loved blue birds in particular. After their first born arrived almost 11 years before, they were told they had only a 5% chance of having another child. She could hardly believe it when the doctor said they were expecting. As she anxiously walked through their home, contemplating what they had just found out, she couldn't help but wonder if she really was pregnant and if so, would she carry this baby to full term. They hadn't seen blue birds around their home but as she looked out that day, there sat a blue bird...a sign to her that all was well.

Recently they contemplated selling the home they had lived in for almost three decades. They prayed about it; talked about it and still there were doubts. One particular morning, full of doubts, Daughter #1 looked out their French doors and there sat a beautiful blue bird. They hadn't seen blue birds there in a very long time.

As they searched for a new home one in particular seemed to be just what they were looking for. While walking through it, she looked out the big glass doors and there, with the sun shining on it's beautiful wings, sat a blue bird.

They purchased the home and while the carpenters finished up the last bit of work so they could move in, doubts would creep in occasionally. After all, their other home was where they had raised both of their boys.....so many wonderful memories. Walking through their new home and still wondering if this was the right choice, again, there was a blue bird just outside the window.

They moved in about two months ago and just this past week, Daughter #1 said to herself,

"I haven't seen any blue birds lately. I wonder why."

Intending to water their flowers on the deck, she headed to the glass doors. And, you guessed it, two blue birds took flight as she opened the door.

As she and I discussed this via FaceTime this week, we realized that we don't hear God speak verbally, but we hear Him speak within our heart. We don't see God's face, but we do see God. We see Him in many things, including blue birds.
“Who doesn’t know that the Lord does things like that? Ask the dumbest beast—he knows that it is so; ask the birds—they will tell you; or let the earth teach you, or the fish of the sea. For the soul of every living thing is in the hand of God, and the breath of all mankind." Job 12:7-10 (TLB)

Have You Ever Been Wrong?

Have you ever been wrong about something or someone?

I don't think my good friend, Mava Fout, will mind me sharing this.

"We had a new girl in my class today and she's pretty."

"Oh, really, what's her name?"
"It's Mava Iva Jean."

I think this was first or second grade, I can't remember for sure but one thing I was sure of was her name.

" So, Jean is her last name?" my daddy inquired.

"Yep.......Mava Iva Jean, and she's pretty."

"Well, I don't guess I know anyone with the last name of Jean who lives in our area. They must have just moved here. I'll see if I can find out a bit more about them," said my dad, and he would.

My dad was always good about checking out the kids I wanted to be friends with. And, it wasn't just when I was in grade school. I remember one time in particular when I was a junior in high school, he checked out a friend and I was a little embarrassed.

You see, I had met this boy through FFA-FHA regional meeting. We kept in touch for a time afterward and he asked if he could come and take me to a movie. Before I was allowed to go, my daddy drove all the way to Lead Hill, where he lived, and inquired about him and his family. I was given permission to go to the movie with him if we came straight home afterward, which we did.
As it turned out, my daddy did some checking about this Mava Iva Jean and informed me that her name was Mava Jean Ivie and her daddy was a painter.

But........I was so sure I had her name right....

My first opinion of one young man who sat behind me at a basketball game one night wasn't good. He kept pestering me and being quite obnoxious actually. He wasn't someone I thought at the time I wanted to get to know. How wrong I was........this year I will have been married to him 59 years.
How often have you been so very certain about someone that you formed an opinion you weren't willing to change? How often have you missed out on a friendship just because a friend told you something about someone and you believed them without checking it out? Or, your first experience with them wasn't the best.

"A fool does not care whether he understands a thing or not; all he wants to do is show how smart he is." Proverbs 18:2 (GNV)