Sunday Ponderings . . .

 

Come to me little sparrow, away from the pelting rain,

Tell me of your sorrows, and I'll tell you of my pain.

Come perch upon my windowsill,

And rest your weary wing;

and give to me the meaning of

the beautiful song you sing.

~Richard Ryan, from his prison cell

 

My sister came to my room last night after supper wanting me to come downstairs and help her to identify these birds that were at the feeder just outside one of the downstairs windows. Small, just a tiny bit larger than a chickadee, there were several there feeding on the seed, and a few on the ground.  "I think they are sparrows," I said.  We looked them up in the bird book to be sure and yes,  they were sparrows. There were two kinds. One I was fairly certain was a song sparrow, and the other perhaps a tree sparrow. 

Sparrows.  In the bird kingdom, they are pretty innocuous. Not very majestic. They are not large like eagles, nor do they sport the brilliant plumage of many other birds, but we were delighted to watch them last evening. They brought us joy.  

Not only was it fun watching them from our spot inside the warmth of our basement, but for me, it was fun doing this with my sister.  We have always loved to watch birds and I have many, many wonderful memories of us doing this together through the years. It just felt nice to be doing it together again. 

 

Sparrows might not be so impressive to look at. They are not large, or beautiful. Dull, brown . . .  blah. Every day we probably see a multitude of them without even noticing them. That is probably the most remarkable thing about them, in fact  . . .  the fact that they are so un-noticeable. 

And yet, as I watched these little birds feeding last night, I was reminded of the cheery sight of their little heads popping up out of the hedge at my home in the UK every morning.  The sun just coming up and these little golden sun-lit heads popping up out of the leaves of the hedge to greet the day, cheeping and making a stir, such a cheer-filled sound.   How the sound of their song garnished all my many days with joy. No, it was not the beautiful melodic song of a sky lark, a robin, or a blackbird. But the sound of them in the garden still brought me joy and I always noticed it if they went silent.

 

The scriptures talk about many different birds, most notably eagles, mentioning the size of their wings and their strength.  They even talk about Hens and chicks   . . .  and yes Sparrows. Birds matter to God.  Usually when sparrows are mentioned, they are used in the scriptures to denote insignificance. These small birds were so insignificant that in biblical times if you bought four sparrows to use for an offering, the seller would usually throw a fifth one in for free. (Luke 12:1-7) 

And yet, sparrows are so significant to our Heavenly Father that Jesus was able to use them and their insignificance to teach us a great lesson regarding those who feel they have no importance, and just how important we all are to God. 

"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your father's care." ~Matthew 10:29 

I love knowing that I am not insignificant in the scheme of things.  That a God who cares about even something as small and innocuously plain as a sparrow also cares for me.  That brings me great comfort, and oh how much we all need comfort in the kind of world that we live in these days.  

Another thing I am thinking about this morning is prayer.  Most Sundays I am awake very early in the morning so that I can watch the church service on Zoom from my church congregation in the UK.   I missed the beginning of it this morning, but I was able to catch the last speaker, and he was speaking about prayer.  He talked about our prayers sometimes seeming like we are reeling off a grocery list to God. That gave me pause for thought.

Most times at the end of the day when I get around to praying, I am half falling asleep. More often than not I will actually fall asleep when I am praying.  I need to do better. 

“We need to carve out time—good time, high priority time—when we can kneel, if possible, and be vocal. Say the words. I believe that this process is basic to how God communicates with us and how He intends for us to communicate with Him,” ~Jeffrey R Holland 

Perhaps if I did, I would be better able to hear the answers He has for me, instead of seemingly flailing around in the dark like I do much of the time.  Especially over these past months, when my heart has felt so broken that were I even to voice my feelings out loud, I feel I would break into a million pieces. Maybe I need to break into a million pieces. Maybe if I did, more light would get in. Prayer is a bridge of love between us and our Heavenly Father.  Food for thought there.  

 

We took Queenie to the grocery shops and the mall yesterday.  She drives beautifully. What a great blessing!  

Wal-Mart was filled to the brim with people.  All masked of course,  and thankfully socially distancing. There were oodles of Easter treats for people to snap up.  I got a couple of Lindt bunnies for Eileen and Tim. Last year I remember being disappointed because Eileen and Anthony had had to cancel their trip to the UK due to Covid,  and we had been happily planning on how we were going to spend our Easter together.  And lookie-here, this year I can give her an Easter bunny in person!!!  Life is full of surprises.  As Forest Gump would say, "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get."

What's your favorite chocolate in the box? For me it has to be either the one with the Turkish delight center, or the one filled with nuts.  I am happy with both.  And some days  . . . I am just happy with chocolate!

And with that I will leave you with a quote for the day . . . 

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

•。★★ 。* 。

° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚

˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛

˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★

 *.˛.° ˛°. .Think of all the beauty

still left around you and be happy.

~Anne Frank  •。★★ 。* 。 

 

I am sharing an old recipe in the kitchen today.  Deliciously simple, all on one pan, Oven Roasted Smoked Sausage and Potatoes. Delicious, easy, economical.   

Have a wonderful Sunday.  Whatever you get up to be happy and blessed, safe and healthy, and don't forget! 

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And I do too!