Birds on the Telephone Wire

It is cold outside today. When I woke this morning, I saw three little black birds sitting in a row on the telephone wire that crosses my front yard. Their backs were toward me and they sat still and fluffed out against the cold. If birds can hunch their shoulders, I would say they were hunched.

Cold rain was drizzling from the cloudy sky. Wind blew cold against them. It was too cold for the poor little things to go hunt up something to eat. They sat still, barely seemed to be alive.

I remembered the little poem, which I loved as a child, written by Robert L. Stevenson.

The north wind doth blow,

And we shall have snow,

And what will the Robin do then, poor thing?

She’ll hide in the barn,

To keep herself warm,

And hide her head under her wing, poor thing!

Sometimes, things at home are hard—funds are low, the cupboard is bare, the kids are sick, the plumbing is backed up, the husband is working late, everybody is grumpy, the woodpile is dwindling, etc. Sometimes we had best sit still, “hunker down," as our old friend Steve says—hunker down and wait out the storm. Don't run, don't complain, don't fight, don't give up—just hunker down.

I don’t want to be a “poor thing” hiding my head under my wing. I want to be strong in the face of trouble. I want to be courageous. But sometimes waiting out a storm—trusting in God’s faithfulness may be the wisest course (and require the most courage and stamina.)

God cares about those sparrows on the wire. I can believe He is taking care of me. Soon this too shall pass. Whatever I face as a wife and mother, there will come a time when the trial passes and I can go on.

Psalm 31:24 says: "Be of good courage and He will strengthen your heart—all you who hope in the Lord.”