Good morning…
Walking each day, admiring the newly born baby cardinals, and sharing pictures with you has been a real joy this week (see our post To My Surprise). But my heart sank to my stomach when I peered into the nest yesterday and saw it empty. No baby birds. No daddy cardinal. No living beings.
Instinctively I sensed, “These little creatures were too tiny to fly and they were too vulnerable to protect themselves.” I realized that, sadly, nature probably did what nature naturally does. I imagine animal instinct kicked in, survival of the fittest, and a predator likely took advantage of the powerlessness of these baby birds.
I went back to the nest again and again and again throughout the day, hoping that maybe my own instinct was wrong. But to my chagrin, the nest laid bare from dawn to dusk. After my third visit, I decided to carefully unhook the nest from its branches, bringing the empty nest home as a reminder to pray for all of God’s living and dying creatures, especially those most vulnerable, most unprotected, most powerless among us.
You insult your Maker when you exploit the powerless; when you’re kind to the poor, you honor God (Proverbs 14:31, MSG).
…Sue…
P.S. Our basement was my sequestering nest for a full week (see I Am Shut In). My husband and I have yet to receive our two-day COVID test results from last week, but we finally did get appointments at a rapid testing site yesterday afternoon. We drove right up, had our nostrils swabbed, waited fifteen minutes, and both received NEGATIVE results. Thank you to all who prayed me through my seven day self-quarantine. I was grateful to empty my basement nest. Overjoyed and COVID free, I joined our family for dinner, planning our visit to see my vulnerable, 89-year-old mother-in-law.
P.S.S. Speaking of honoring God by being kind to the poor and the powerless, Amy Olvey just wrote Action Ministries volunteers a letter of thanks, with a link to new time slots for food packing opportunities in July and August:
Good morning AMI volunteers! I wanted to drop a note to thank each and every one of you for your service this summer! Without volunteers like yourself, we would not be able to do the work in our community! Please know, YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE! The meal packs that you all having being packing for us go directly to the children in our Smart Lunch Smart Kid Summer Lunch Program! Over the last 8 years, we have been providing school-age, food insecure children with meals during the summer while school is out of session! We will continue to pack through the month of July and August and will continue to need your help! If you are looking to support the community and want to come out and visit us again, please sign-up using the link below! Also, please share with family, friends & colleagues to see if they would like to get involved in our programming!
https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0E4EA9AD29A5F94-community
If you have any questions, please reach out to me directly! Blessings to you all for the continued support! Stay safe & healthy!
Amy Olvey
Director of Community Engagement
4025 Welcome All Road, Suite 160 College Park, Georgia 30349
c. 678-469-6215 |
