Blessed Birdwatching

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” It is good to be a child of the High and Mighty God, isn’t it? K. and I are birdwatchers. I recently contacted the man who does our local Christmas Bird Count to see if we could join him. If I had known who he was, I never would have dared to ask!

Mr. M agreed to allow us to come along, as a training opportunity for 7 year old K. Little did I know that Mr. M has 60 years birding experience, and that he was featured in the New York Times, Sports Illustrated and Time Magazine in 1975 for finding a Ross’s Gull in the continental United States, a finding that came to be known as “The Birding Event of the Century”.

This kind and humble man spent an entire day alone with us, traipsing through the cold and rain, showing us how to use a scope, answering silly questions that he must have heard a million times by now, and dropping seeds of birding wisdom here and there along the path. It was our great privilege to spot several new species in Mr. M’s company, and we will always remember that we were in this great man’s presence the first time we saw the Horned Grebe, the Common Loon, the Bufflehead, the Bonaparte’s Gull and the Forster’s Tern.

We will also remember that our loving Father arranged this gift for us. Why would a man like Mr. M leave Texas on Christmas Day and travel through the night to spend a day birdwatching with a Georgia homeschool mom and her 7 year old boy? Because we serve a High and Mighty God, who turns the hearts of mighty men in order to bless His children. I confidently approached the “throne” of an important man because I didn’t know who he was. And yet, we can approach the Throne of Grace with just as much boldness. We know our great high priest is one who sympathizes with our weaknesses, and that should give us even more confidence to approach His throne in our time of need.