Look at the Birds

I have said on and off throughout the years, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, that my favorite Bible verse is Matthew 6:26, "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?"

Now, obvious to those who know me the "look at the birds" injunction appeals to me because I enjoy looking at birds. But, there are spiritual lessons to be learned by observing the physical world around us. David recognized that when he said, "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands." (Psalm 19:1)

I was sitting by a pond the other day, waiting on both the birds and our common maker. I saw that God makes different birds with different temperaments. There was a Little Egret standing on the bank for some time and then he began his day's work of wading around the edge hunting for food. A Pied Kingfisher was hovering and hunting and caught a small fish. Then it ate it and sat on a rock by the waters edge. Eventually it was joined by another, and they sat together, quietly.

I try to resist the tendency to anthropomorphize wildlife, at least immediately, in order to learn what they are really doing. As best as I can see, the kingfishers were content. God had provided for them, and the received. What was going through their minds I have no way to know. If I project myself onto them, I imagine perhaps they were offering thanksgiving to their Creator for another meal, another day.

I sat by the pond for a few hours. I even napped a bit. God does not always show up with power, but He is always present. I felt that the "lesson for the day" was that sometimes it is just good to hang out with a friend. Especially when He is the Alpha and Omega. And that is what I felt like I did for those hours. We enjoyed the pond, this little oasis in the midst of a dry and thirsty land.

And as I started to think about leaving, onto other tasks, He showed off a little. He called forth 4 lifers, one by one, in the space of maybe 30 minutes, saving the most spectacular looking one for last, a Common Kingfisher, bathed in the rays of that bright middle eastern sun. Look at the birds of the air, indeed. If we miss them, something is wrong with us, I think.

Why Did God Make Wings?

10 September 2008

It had never really occurred to me until recently. When God has allowed His prophets a glimpse of the heavenly realms, often, there are beings with wings. Of course, the church has picked up on this and we see winged angels in our artwork throughout the ages.

On the fifth day, we read, God created the flying things, as well as the swimmers, which many are actually fliers, just buoyant ones in a different ether than we are accustomed to. Then, He waited and made the land animals. Almost as if He checked Himself a bit. Perhaps knowing He must wait to give us something to aspire to. Knowing that we would need something to capture our imagination, cause us to look up, and dream of Heaven.

When God came to earth as flesh and blood in the incarnation, Jesus entreated His followers, "consider the birds of the air." We tend to rush on to the lilies of the field and all that, because we think we understand the illustration. He again reminds us that not a sparrow falls to the ground that our Father is unaware. Our Savior spoke of the flying things.

We, as a people dreamed of flight for hundreds of years. To experience the freedom and the perspective of a bird on the wing. As our understanding of the physical word around us increased, eventually, we were able to take to the skies. Unfortunately, as we were learning more and more about the physical, I think, we began to lose the spiritual.

Now we could fly, but, by and large, we forgot why we wanted to. It had gone from a dream born on the creativity of God and visions of His splendor to a pursuit. A problem to be solved. Once we made that shift, and the "problem" was solved, we were left to figure out what we had, in fact, solved. As with most of our pursuits, it became about profit and loss, and now, after almost one hundred years of being able to take to the skies, actually doing it seems to be one of the most pedestrian things we do.

We are able to fly much faster and much higher than any creature. But we find ourselves increasingly wondering "why?" If we take the time to pause in field or forest, along lake or stream and watch the flying things, not those designed and profaned by ourselves, but those crafted by the hand of God. If we are quiet, and let the song of the bird enter not just our ears but our souls. If we ask, "Why does he sing when he flies?" Then, maybe, perhaps, the spirit within us might awaken and remember. Might remember when we dreamed of flying—not to get somewhere, but simply to be flying. Simply because it looked like it would be wonderful. Because we saw visions of cherubim and angels, and they had wings and they were near God.

Perhaps we shall have wings on the new earth. I do not know, and God has not seen fit to let us know yet. I cannot help but think that there will be wings around us if not on us. The Father seems to enjoy them, and He created them to be here, and to be where He is, or where He shows Himself to be.

Can there be a more striking vision, if we truly consider the birds of the air, of the Kingdom of God, of the good news that God loves us and desires us with Him, than to see a heron wading, take a few steps, elegant and breathtaking, then bow it’s head, spread it’s wings, and take to the air. I think it no mistake that we are told that Jesus, when He returns and all is made right again, will meet us in the air.

As the hymnist reminds us, "One glad morning when this life is over, I’ll fly away." Not walk, run or swim. I’ll fly away. O glory!

Beside Still Waters

I have been out for a while at a new outpost without much of anything. Most days I see sand, gravel and sky. I did get a chance to go back to the "main FOB" for a few days though. A real shower, porcelain toilets...the little things in life.

I woke up at 0530 because, well, that's when I wake up normally and I'm getting to that stage in life where my body just doesn't get the whole "sleep in" thing. So I got dressed and walked over to the pond to see what I could see. On the way, I was praying, and was tempted to ask God for a lifer, but, slowly learning my lesson over the years, I changed my mind and just asked Him for whatever He had for me this morning.

It was a pleasant, sunny morning. Lately, where I am, the winds have shifted and we have been getting air from off the Persian Gulf--full of humidity. So, reluctantly, I have to admit there is something to this "dry heat" thing. 98 with 12% humidity felt rather nice this morning.


It was a wonderful couple of hours...I ended up with six life birds. I can't remember the last time I had 6 life birds in such a short span of time. God came through (as if that's a surprise.) It had been a tough couple of weeks before I came back so this was some real soul feeding for me.

Here's my list for the morning:

Little Egret

Squacco Heron

Cattle Egret

Little Bittern

Water Rail

Black-winged Stilt

Red-wattled Lapwing

Common Sandpiper

Rock Pigeon

Eurasian Collared-Dove

Pied Kingfisher

Eurasian Hoopoe

Crested Lark

House Martin

White-cheeked Bulbul

Red-backed Shrike

Woodchat Shrike

House Sparrow

There were a couple that got away too...a thrush-like bird I saw on the opposite shore that could have been any of about half a dozen species and then there were several "lbjs" in the reeds along the pond too. (little brown jobs) which, from the 2 glimpses I caught, could have been almost anything....

But, the Water Rail I was able to watch for probably 5 minutes. That just doesn't happen with rails normally, they like to skulk in the reeds, but this one seemed content to feed along the shoreline for a while. Then the Little Bittern that not only was out in the open, but let me get cose enough to take some pictures with my little pocket camera.

I have to admit, by the time I got to this one, and stood their marveling and snapping, I had some tears in my eyes. Truly,
"The LORD is my shepherd,
I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
He leads me beside quiet waters,
He restores my soul."

Not the first time I've quoted that Psalm recently, but the first time for those particular verses. Thanks, God, I needed that.

Praise for the Tough Little Guy

To the average birder, there are some birds that we tend to see as worth little more than a tick mark on the checklist. They tend to be a given, they are common, they may even be introduced (that is, not a native species). Depending where you are, they vary, but they are birds like Mallards, European Starling, Rock Pigeons, and, of course, the ubiquitous House Sparrow Passer domesticus.

They are found on all 6 inhabited continents. To say that these little feathered creations are controversial is an understatement. Ornithologists can't decide if they are related to Weaver Finches or some other family. Conservationist consider their introduction into North America and Australia a huge mistake. They are aggressive cavity-nesters and compete (quite successfully) with many native species.

They are considered the most abundant bird on the planet, however. They thrive in areas where man has altered the landscape. Walk into almost any large retail store with a warehouse-type ceiling and you will probably find some. Lately, I have been amazed just to see them in the deserts of Kuwait and Iraq. They find our camps, our outposts, and they manage to live off the water we spill and the food we drop, or so it seems.

I was bemused to see one today perched underneath the exhaust vent on a shower trailer, trying to stay cool. No easy task, with the temperature hovering around 116 and a firm breeze creating the effect of having a hair dryer pointed at you while sitting under a heat lamp.

Yes, I understand there are lots of issues around this species. But largely, they are not its fault. They did not ask to be crated up and sent around the globe in centuries past. They just did what they always did once they were released. And they do it well: adapt, overcome and survive. So even if the reasons to dislike them are long, they still deserve a measure of respect as being, in terms of numbers and range anyway, the biggest bird in the world.

In Asia, Again....

Well, after 364 days stateside the Army decided that, once again, I should go birding in Asia on their dime. This time, though, it's southwest Asia, aka Iraq.

So far the birding hasn't been too bad. Kuwait only netted 2 birds, House Sparrow (it there anyplace they don't live?) and Crested Lark. Mostly, Kuwait was a non-stop sandstorm for the 5 days I was there.

Now that I am in-country, the sand storms have subsided and birding has picked up. On the FOB I am on right now, we are blessed with a small pond. This, of course, is a bit of a bird magnet, which suits me just fine. The past two mornings I have spent some time birding around it before breakfast.

Just having some open water, having that wonderful fresh water lake smell, takes me back to the Midwest in the states. It is incredibly refreshing, dare I say, on a spiritual level. But then, God has wooed me through nature for most of my life.

Well, toting around my pocket camera, I managed a few pictures this morning where you can actually tell they are birds...I'll share a few.

Here is a Black-winged Stilt that I watched for quite a while this morning.


Eurasian Collared Dove and Pied Kingfisher.


And then a picture of a White-cheeked Bubul from yesterday taken near the chow hall.


I also saw a Snowy Plover, Common Sandpiper, Crested Lark and the ever-popular Rock Pigeon. Finally, an interesting bird that frequents the pond is the Red-wattled Lapwing. This is a large plover-like bird with a striking tan, white and black plumage and yellow legs. It likes to fly around calling out "did-he-do-it, did-he-do-it, did-did-he-do-it" rather loudly. Unfortunately, they don't stay still long enough, near enough for me to get a picture yet. It's gets its name because it has a red eye-ring that has a little bit extra (the "wattle") toward the front. It's not terribly easy to see, but it makes for a good name, I suppose.