EYES ON ME

 

     Our round dining table overlooks our xeriscaped yard. If you come for tea or coffee, or a bite to eat, you will need to move my binoculars from the placemat, as well as two bird books on the chair closest to me. One is for searching out info on birds, and the other I bought for recording my bird sightings.

     Last year, for Mom's birthday, I bought her a bird feeder. We visited another older friend of mine a few weeks before, and as we sat and chatted on her front patio, we enjoyed watching the many birds who visited her bird feeders. So, this is how our curiosity began. What birds were actually all around us?

     I soon found out about a couple of bird apps, Audubon's bird app for recording my finds online that would add to their global database, and Merlin ID. Merlin ID is awesome because it identifies birds in my vicinity, wherever I happen to be, and when I start recording, the photo and name of the birds it identifies appear, based on their calls and songs.

     The majority of the birds that come around are lesser goldfinches, cardinals, white-winged doves, and sparrows; always, many sparrows come a-calling.

     I was in meditation mode as I sipped my mid-morning coffee. My birds now have their fill to eat since I refill their feeders once a week. 

     I watched them flit about, carefree. What a life! They do not concern themselves with yesterday or tomorrow. They just relish today and sing hallelujahs in the treetops, grateful for the moment they are in.

     There is a lot to be learned here, I realize. Too often, my thoughts are cluttered with global events, headlines intended to provoke me into reading and checking in on their pages. They collect money from all of these clicks, while I may only feel heightened anxiety from the violence and hatred portrayed. 

     Not to say that we should be recluses who don't participate in shaping our culture, but most of the time, the vital aspects of life can slip quietly past us if we don't take note.

     Beauty all around, relationships, times for deep thought, and others for expressing what's on our minds to those who care enough to listen and truly know who we are. At other times, we can bask in the loveliness of solitude.

     In Matthew 10:29, Jesus taught, "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father's care." 

     How much more are my Heavenly Father's eyes on me? Watching and enjoying my daily comings and goings. Not looking to find fault, but rather delighting in my observations, thoughts, daily chores, interactions, and creativity. My Father delights in me and notices even the tiny things that no one else sees.

     When I was in my twenties, with three small children to care for daily, I found myself wondering what my life's purpose and meaning were all about as I repeatedly performed tasks like cleaning, bathing the tots, dressing them, changing diapers, planning meals, and executing them. I wondered what all my education had been for up to this point, with so many menial tasks to attend to.

     I found my joy in watching and interacting with these dear little ones that God gifted me with. Never a dull moment, and I never knew what questions or responses I would hear from these cherubs of mine. 

     Then, I had a revelation. If only God saw what I did and how well I attended to all in my domain, then that would be enough. I would live my life to please God. If no one else noticed what I did all day to provide for my little tribe, then God's wink of approval was all that I needed.

     I began to appreciate the quiet solitude of naptime. I prepped for supper first, then I played and sang hymns on the piano. I took the time to read and meditate before taking a short catnap until the first little one woke. 

     Then the fun would begin after snacks as we went outside to play or to take a walk down our country road.

     I want to get back to this space in my life where I breathe in life. I wish my days away when I could stop and appreciate all that is here for me in this moment. After all, He never took His eyes off of me. I am the apple of His eye. I will delight and be glad...grateful for each precious experience that crosses my path. Eyes on me are smiling.