In the midst of a torrential downpour I looked out the window and saw the most bedraggled looking bird at our feeder. It took me a moment to recognize that it was a male cardinal. He was so soaked you could barely identify what is usually the most beautiful bird in the neighborhood. What was he doing? Why had he not taken shelter like the other birds? He filled his beak and was off through an incredibly storm. Having a hunch I raced to the other side of the house where we can view a very active cardinal nest. Sure enough mom was covering the chicks as he swooped in with food. His family needed him.
When I was small my father was a school teacher. He would come home from the classroom and sleep until 10:00 pm and then go to work in the steel mills of Pennsylvania from 11 to 7. He would come home in the morning, change clothes and go to his classroom. He did that for years. My mom, my sisters and I were well cared for.
Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7:11, “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?” That soaked male cardinal reminded me of my dad. My dad reminded me of Matthew 7:11. Jesus was so right. Why should we fret and worry? We are loved. We are cared for. And should things get difficult there is always a better tomorrow.
He cares for the birds that usually take shelter in a storm. He will always care for you and me.
Written by Roger Bothwell on April 28, 2010
Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
Rogerbothwell.org