This blog post is my Christian perspective. If you are offended by something like this, please feel free to come back when I post the next satire story.
I am sitting out on my front porch under the hanging bird feeders which I keep filled for the menagerie of wild birds in my yard. The sun is bright and warm on this winter day, and it is very relaxing drinking coffee in my padded wicker chair, while I write my stories.
Each feeder which I have hung, has its own purpose and is for a specific bird type.
One feeder is for the hummingbirds. They are quite possibly the bravest of the bird species. In the process of hanging up the freshly filled feeder, I have had an impatient hummer land on the feeder between my two hands and start feeding on the sugary mixture.
One feeder is multi-levelled, filled with light birdseed. The Blackcap-Chickadees, Juncos and Sparrows can empty this feeder completely in two weeks.
There are two hanging blocks. One is suet which I change out with various flavors. The other is a woodpecker block which is composed of a variety of seeds which have been pressure compacted together. Only birds which can land and clamp onto the protective block cages, peck at the seed in these feeders. I am always surprised to see a large Flicker hanging on the cage tearing the seed block up like he is a winged jackhammer.
Lastly, I have a tray which I leave on the floor of the porch which I dump a concoction of large seed, dried fruit, and peanuts into each morning. It’s not long before this is empty. The Bluejays, which are the bandits of the bird world, swoop in and steal the peanuts. What they don’t grab, the squirrels will eat while they sit in the center of the tray. When they leave, the Towhees, Juncos, Sparrows, Finches, and Chickadees swarm and feed on the seed smorgasbord. Whatever is left as darkness falls is eaten by the raccoons.
All this happens every day at my house. Every day the birds and the squirrels wait outside my kitchen window for their free feeding. Sometimes if I am late, the Chickadees fly up against the window, banging into it to get my attention. The squirrels will climb onto the back of my wicker chair on the porch so they can stare into the house. I can tell that they are wondering what’s taking so long.
But when I go outside and fill their feeders, I can sit down in my chair and watch and not one of them will come to the feeders to eat. The branches of the surrounding trees are full of birds, but they will not fly up to the one who feeds them. Even the squirrels will run into the next yard to hide from the giver of food. Why is this? Don’t they recognize that I am the one who feeds them, and I have not once tried to harm them? It’s not until I have reentered the house that they will swarm the free food.
Each year, Cheryl and I leave the house for a few weeks’ vacation, and suddenly there is no one to put food out on the porch. The Big Guy isn’t around. The feeders go empty and what food is left is fought over. When we come back, you’d think that they would be happy to see me. But no, they are ticked off that they weren’t fed and because of that, they don’t trust me.
Hey little friends, trust me.
Isn’t this the same way that we treat God? First, he started by creating a planet that was just the right distance from the sun to support life. He created all the beauty on the planet and the rich soils to grow crops. He created the wildlife on the surface and the fish in the seas for us to eat to survive. He provides oil, natural gas, and coal for heat and power. He gives health, the ability to earn a living, and strong minds to take our world into the future. He gives and gives and gives and yet we don’t acknowledge him or offer him any thanks.
“Just go away. Give us this day, but just go away. We don’t need you.”
And God says, “How long will it take for you to trust me?”
“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” Matthew 6:26
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