Dear Friends,
God can show us truths about His character even when we look out our windows.
I have a couple of wren families who come to my garden to nest every year. They know it's a safe place for them and it is filled with nesting materials and food and shelter that they need. In the spring when the first one returns she perches on a branch and sings for her mate to come. When he arrives they spend a few days going house hunting for the perfect home for their babies. They poke their heads into the different little houses, hopping in and out. When a decision is made they sit on the top of the house and sing their shrill wren song to each other.
Just the other day I was surprised to see a group of baby wrens playing together in my garden. It appeared to be a game of hide and seek! I watched three tiny babies flying from flower to flower and then to a branch looking for just the right place to hide. Then they found a little birdhouse that has the roof missing. It's like a little box hanging in the midst of Sunflowers and tangles of Morning Glories in my garden. One by one they perched on the edge of the house and hopped inside. They were being very still as if they were hiding in the little broken house. Then another tiny wren flew to the edge of the hiding place and they all flew out and repeated the game again a couple of times!
The wrens were not bothered by the brokenness of the little house. They were able to see past that flaw and find a purpose for it!
I have written about brokenness before and God brings me back to this message to continue to show me and to help me to paint the picture for you. God can use and make beauty from broken lives and from the ashes. He has many ways to show us His love: a broken alabaster box, pottery mended with gold, and a little broken bird house. Jesus is always ready to mend and heal us and to use us for His glory. When we go to the safe place of His presence in prayer and receive His forgiveness and His nourishment we can find this blessing.
Isaiah 61:3
"To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the Lord has planted for His own glory."
