Hope returns. Where are you finding hope in these uncertain times?
My heart yearns for good news. My eyes search for positive signs. I beg God to show me he is still here in the midst of death and doubt.
I truly believe God is present and never leaves us. We are the ones who ignore him. Who rush by him. Who put on our blinders, narrowly focusing on what is going wrong and missing his mercy and grace. We are on holy ground all around. We just fail to see.
Hope Returns
A few weeks ago, I wallowed in my self-pity and whining. Covid 19 mired my perspective and attitude and infected my heart. I pleaded to God to help me see his promises and to revive my soul.
That is when hope returned.
I write this blog each week from my office with a great window facing my backyard. When I sit in my glider chair in this same room for my morning prayers and devotions my view is the sky and trees. This is my sacred space I have shared in previous posts. I watch the seasons burst into life in spring and the weather rolling in and out. Having a sacred space where I can rest in God calms my anxiety and opens my heart.
If I lean forward just a bit, I can see out the side door in the hallway to the bird feeder swaying with comings and goings of brown speckled sparrows.
That is when hope returned.
Behind the bird feeder by the kitchen window is a small, 6 by 7-inch mounted speaker. That morning I noticed a few long pieces of tan grasses draped over the back bracket.
Could it be? Has this happened two years in a row? Was my robin back once again building a nest in this precarious location?
I shared her story last year here on Healthy Spirituality. I called her Lucy and she taught me persistence last year as she struggled daily to build a nest for her future. Most of the time I worried about her as she failed to make progress. Here is her story for you to read again.
I don’t know if the robin attempting once again to build a nest on that small platform is the same Lucy, but I like to believe she is the same or maybe her daughter, so call her Lucy II.
For weeks, the news wasn’t good for Lucy II as the nest continued to fall apart and scattered across our deck. I fretted about her and wondered if this year would end tragically, not wonderfully.
- Every day she shows up.
- Every day she starts over.
- Every day she tries once again.
- Every day she takes the ordinary debris from a left-over garden, adds muck and mud of the earth and builds something to hold new life.
On Sunday Lucy II completed the nest.
A place for new life to emerge and fly into the world with expectation and promise.
My hope returns watching Lucy II.
I smiled sensing God standing alongside me observing her daily attempts.
I feel God gently whispering into my heart – you can do this too. So:
- Every day I show up.
- Every day I start over.
- Every day I try once again.
- Every day I take the ordinary stuff from the garden of my life, add the muck and mud of the world and build something to hold new life.
A place where new life will emerge and fly free sometime in the future.
Thank you, Lucy II, for once again teaching me and showing me God’s lesson for this time.
Hope returns.
Where are you finding hope lately?
A great reminder that if He cares for the sparrow, surely He will care for me and you and all His “kids”.
Celebrating the joy He gives as we seek Him like you did through what He put in your path, (Lucy and Lucy II ). Thanks for all you do…
I love the song His eyes are on the sparrow and those little birds remind me of that music every time I see them. Glad we connected and visited each other this week!
Jean,
Thank you for sharing the Lucy I story also. Your writing touched my soul. It reminds me of the parables where Jesus shared information and we can bring it alive (even in our minds) from where we are at the moment.
How appropriate during the week of Earth Day.
Peace, Louise
Thank you for your kind words, Louise. Lucy sure encourage me too.
What a beautiful and perfectly-timed message of hope you wove from Lucy II’s nesting efforts. I am finding hope on the internet, of all places, as I stay in touch with family and friends of faith, who post encouragement, appropriate scripture and quotes, and pictures of spring that inspire wonder and praise. Even humor engenders hope as we unite with laughter at our current circumstances. We ARE surviving this–together, with God as our firm foundation.
Lucy II so inspired me – two years in a row! Right now she is sitting on her eggs. So will be fun to warch new babies soon. I agree with you some of the humor and creativity has been wonderful to watch. Praying for your health!
Thank you, Jean! I just figured out how to access your older posts–hit the Home button! 🙂
glad you fiqured it out. You know I changed a few things a while back and didn’t realize emails answers were no longer going out. Thanks for mentioning that.
I have found that my mood is more directly correlated with our weather than ever before. A nice sunny day helps me uncover a nice sunny mood. Now I have to relearn how to keep my hope up even in the rainy stormy days because we’ve had a lot of those lately. God’s grace is everywhere. Some days I just have to look for it harder than other days.
I am so needing sunny days and spring weather. I hear it is coming next week in Ohio so am hoping. Relearning to enjoy and appreciate rainy days takes courage and determination. I will/need to work on that. Yes God’s grace is everywhere and in everything – we just need open eyes and hearts!
Such an inspiring lesson for all of us, Jean. Yes, hope returns, yet it never really left. We left it.
May your days blossom with hope!
Yes hope returns – this miracle right outside my window lifted my spirits. May you too find hope!
Don’t you just love how God uses His creation to teach us how to live for Him?!
What a hope-filled, faith inspired reflection, Jean.
I’m appreciative …
God is so good, Linda – so thankful when we seek and see we do find hope everywhere. blessings, Linda. Stay healthy!