"Fear Not, for I Have Redeemed You"

This post is by Rick Sapp from San Rafael First UMC:

My wife, Cynthia, feeds the birds. For years, every morning she distributes handfuls of sunflower chips on the concrete patio surrounding the swimming pool. This has resulted in a grateful gathering of birds including Goldfinch, Housefinch, Sparrows, Juncos, Brown Towhee, the occasional Rufous-Sided Towhee, Doves, Titmouse Chickadees and California Quail. In addition, there is a peanut butter feeder for the Downy and Nuttall’s Woodpeckers hanging from a roof beam outside the kitchen window. There are also four hummingbird feeders spread around the yard leading to almost constant territorial spats that can be most amusing to observe. We find the antics of the birds to be very entertaining and they bring us much joy and pleasure that we have come to take for granted.

About two months ago our patio was demolished and the swimming pool’s surface was removed. It left a mess of mud and gravel. Cynthia immediately began to fret about the birds, worrying that they would be so undone by the mess and the lack of a secure place to put out the sunflower seeds that they would stop coming to our backyard. But she was able to find places to put the seeds and the birds quickly accommodated and their numbers never diminished. In fact, they seemed to like and enjoy the scene of destruction. The Sparrows, Towhees and Juncos found more places to scratch and hunt for bugs and seeds. As the ground dried, the quail found new places to dust and before long there were many dusting beds where once there was concrete.

It seems to me that the behavior of the birds is something akin to the message Isaiah is telling the people of Israel. Despite the destruction and mayhem that they have created in their lives and how they have lost their connection to God, that God is still with them and on their side. Is 43: 1 “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” But they must adapt. Is 43:19 “ Behold, I am doing a new thing: now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?”