Just recently I was invited to spend some time in
Weaverville, NC at the home of some dear friends. The beauty of the mountains
snatched my breath away as we approached their gorgeous 5000 sq. ft. log house.
My life had been in utter turmoil for more than a year with my husband being in
need of 24/7 care, and I was emotionally and physically spent. He had recently
been in the hospital, and then moved to a rehab facility, so my friends,
concerned about my welfare, decide a short mountain stay would be refreshing
while my husband was away from home. I was so grateful all the detailss had
worked out so that I was able to go.
I was offered my choice of upstairs bedrooms, so I picked
the one that that had a window at the head of the bed, where from my pillow I
could see the peaks of the Blue Ridge Mountains billowing up to the sky. The
evening was an array of stars above and lights way down in a valley area. It
was breathtaking, and that evening I lay there just watching the fluttering lights
until I drifted off to sleep.
When I awoke the next morning, to my dismay, all I could see
was a dense fog, and the tops of the trees that were very near the house. Even
though I knew the majestic
mountains were still there, I was blinded to their existence. This made
me think about my present life….so dark, so painful, so much uncertainty, and
even though I knew God was there in all His splendor , it was so hard to see
Him. Life’s circumstances were so grim that all I could see was the “fog”. But
then, I realized, maybe that was all God wanted me to see at the moment.
Maybe He wanted me to trust Him blindly moment by moment and walk ahead
dependent totally on Him, even if I couldn’t see two feet in front of me.
Little by
little the fog cleared as the sun forced its way through the gray denseness.
Finally, hours later, I could see the beautiful view once more. There it was!
The renewed faith to believe that I could trust him in the dark time I was
experiencing, because inevitably His Son would break through the darkness and
all would be clear again.
I picked up my Bible and opened to Matthew 6:25-34 where
Jesus assures us that we need not worry. “Therefore, do not worry about
tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day
is its own trouble.”
I then turned to another passage in Mathew 10:29-31 where
Jesus tells us that “not a sparrow falls to the ground without the Father’s
will, and we should not be afraid, because we are of more value than many
sparrows.” I lay in bed,
contemplating this verse and God’s love for me.
Just at that moment, I heard a loud “thump” on the window. I
didn’t think too much of it at the moment, still deep in thought over that
scripture, but I finally got out of bed and looked out the side window. There
below on the lower floor deck was a lifeless little bird. The fog must have
confused him and he had flown into the window. I couldn’t believe it! I had just read that not one sparrow falls to the ground
without the Father’s will. At first I thought, “maybe this is God telling
me that my husband will die. Or
maybe my emotional stress will do me in.” I went back to bed and started really
contemplating that scripture. What was Jesus really trying to say? Wasn’t it
that our lives were so very valuable to him, that our hairs were all numbered?
That he cares for each sparrow that falls?
I lay meditating for a while. Then I decided to check on the
little bird again, and inform my friend of its death so his dog wouldn’t see it
on the deck and eat the little bird. But when I looked down to the deck below,
to my utter surprise the little guy was standing upright! He wasn’t moving, but
he wasn’t lying flat either! I watched him and photographed him for more than
an hour. He stood perfectly still, as if understanding that trying to take a
step forward would be his demise. About four hours later, he finally flew away.
I could not escape the clarity of these spiritual lessons. I
may feel like I can’t see, surrounded by dire circumstances. It may feel like I
am banging my head against an unmovable wall until I feel lifeless. But the
same way the little bird stood, there is resurrection power for me to stand!I
don’t have to remain “dazed by the impact of the pain of life”. Sooner or later
I will rise up and fly again. And so will you!
