I was running late – how I do most things – when I remembered I needed to stay hydrated because I’m nursing a new baby. (A new one after two adoptions has brought all kinds of perspective on not only things I missed — but also just how precious each day and little one is… a post for another day for sure!)
I ran in the house – car already loaded and running – and grabbed my water. I closed the door and heard a tweet. Tweet as in a bird tweet. And yes – I was still inside my house. I closed the refrigerator door and just beside me was a little sparrow – in my kitchen.
He didn’t fly away. He was just standing there. Or would you say perching or resting? Anyway—he was still. I’m not sleeping at night y’all (blame it on the baby) – so I almost wanted to pinch myself to be sure I was seeing clearly. I went back to the car to tell the kids there was a BIRD in the kitchen and… ”What should we do?”
My 2nd grader looked at me like I’d lost it and said, “Mom. We all go in—and we get him out. We’ll just have to be late.”
So in we went and we carefully, calmly and quickly guided the little sparrow out of the house. Locked up. Reloaded the van and drove away.
Now this might sound sensible – only have you ever had to get a bird out of your house? This wasn’t my first rodeo with birds because, oddly enough, this always seems to happen when the Lord is in the midst of teaching me or guiding me in something. Crazy right? Not really when you know that the Lord speaks to each of us in different ways. He always speaks to me through prayer and His Word. But when it comes to matters of my heart – God has always used birds.
When we were preparing for our very first adoption, I had three small children who were really too young to understand the reasons things like orphanages and adoptions were needed. As I prayed for the Lord to help me prepare them, I’ll never forget how the Lord used a bird to show them what He was calling our family to.
That very week we were all walking in the grocery when my daughter spotted an abandoned baby bird who couldn’t fly because of hurt wings. God wanted us to do more than just pass by the bird or pray that he would be okay — we brought the bird home with us. We cared for him. We named him. We sang to him.
God used us to bring healing to that bird, and God used that little guy to teach us too. Then one day he was ready and we all went outside and we held back tears as we watched him soar.
That was just one of the many times God used a bird to guide or encourage. After a miscarriage, I will never forget the bird that sat and sang outside my window as I rocked in that nursery chair. Or the time we were praying about adopting again and my precious son, also adopted, gave me a clay gift he had made at school. I opened it to find a mother bird with lots of eggs in her nest — with of course an extra egg waiting to hatch.
So seeing this sparrow in my kitchen this week came as no surprise to me. I knew exactly what I was supposed to do… simply show him the way out and trust the Lord to do the rest. That was it. And that was also the answer to my prayer and current direction for what our family was praying through.
Our world can be so loud — sometimes it’s hard to hear. Goodness knows with the current state of affairs it can give you a headache and make you want to completely tune out. To many things you should tune out — but oh sweet moms… God is still on the move and doing much in the heart of His children.
While our country might look like it’s quite a mess, He is still in control. And while politics might be really loud, there are still precious little children who need us to be in prayer for how God wants to use us to love them.
I want to encourage you to not allow the noise to be louder than His voice; keep listening.
Look for the ways He speaks to you – and be brave to follow.
Don’t take His speaking lightly – reflect on what He is trying to whisper to you over the noise – and trust Him to lead, guide and provide.
Are you praying about adopting? Or going on a mission trip? Or how you can help another family? Are you unsure about His timing? Or maybe it’s just a season for you to focus on the children already in your home and settle in for a bit? Maybe you are unsure how to help a child in already in your home heal or there are decisions ahead you just need His help in.
God is always, always speaking — so ask Him to make you sensitive to see patterns of how He grabs your attention and speaks to you. Maybe it’s words, birds or rainbows. Reflect on what you think He may be saying and stay in His Word as you pray through it. And I promise – in His timing – as you do these things you will know exactly how He wants to move you.
Excited to be on this journey of following Jesus with you and loving big the kids near and far He brings to our hearts and homes.
Much love,
This is beautiful. I thought I was the only one who “heard” God through birds–only for me, it’s usually red-tailed hawks. After my best friend died unexpectedly, I would beg for a sign that He was still there and in control. I prayed for a sign that we were doing the right thing pursuing our daughter’s adoption. So many times I’ve prayed to see God, and I’ve always thought this is how he reveals himself to me.
Love this! God has ALWAYS used birds in my life too! Always! I even loved birds so much that I kept about 40 birds, 22 birds at once too as my beloved pets as a child- teen years. God used singing birds to comfort me during a time of serious emotional turmoil, after my Moms heart surgery-leaving her at the hospital exhausted worrying she wouldn’t make it through the night, after my Father and sister passed away, On graves of those people that I love, overhead singing loudly outside my window during life’s trials and pains-so many times I can’t count, I even had a lost parakeet on the road in front of me…it landed right where I was walking and he ended up coming home with me to be family of the 22 birds I had at that time. The list of ” bird” encounters, incidents, and miracles are SO numerous that they happen all the time…but only when something is going to happen, is happening and will happen. But these ” birds” always mean two things…peace and comfort. Lately, as we nearly complete our third adoption…fifth child…God has been allowing doves to show up in pairs quite a few times now. They will perch near our deck and sit at the same time singing birds will be out loudly singing. For 7 years, too, we lived in our old home which was an awful place to be for so many reasons, but during those awful 7 years, birds sat on our roof near bedrooms only and sang all day and way into the night and birds would have singing contests all night long! A choir of them sounding like hundreds of birds. Again, God knew that house was bad, yet he sent many birds to comfort us during the time we once lived there. I am SO happy to hear others talk about their bird encounters too. Ironically, I have had multiple injured birds come across my path too! Birds really are Gods way to get our attention, give us peace and comfort, to solidify a direction or path we are to take. But after how birds have taken an active role in my life and my families, we have pictures of them all over the house and they are used in are decor. And while our home decor is the majority of Jesus..still, we remember how God can use even the smallest of his creation to encourage us and help us. Maybe why Angels and Birds BOTH have wings!!!! Angels are unseen but birds can be the Angels we DO see…used by our Father God!!! So wonderful! Love your story! Thank you for reminding me again, that birds are Gods secret agents!!!! Because they truly are! 🙂
What a great post ! I have been praying for 4 years – everyday – if God wants us to adopt. I am waiting to hear . Needed this today ! Thank you
Amy, I was also so touched by this story and when I read your comment it made me think of where I have been several times in my life and every time the Lord has used someone or something to remind me that the HE is the Dream Giver!!!!!! So if that dream is in your heart than He gave it and I think the big question is really about timing! We have been praying about timing for 8 years. We have had 3 failed adoptions due to things we could not control and so we are still trusting and searching for the right time and agency that the Lord wants us to use. I pray that the Lord will make his plan for your family loud and clear! Blessings
I have missed reading your blogs Andrea. Thank you for posting this. Your timing is oh so perfect. My husband just recently came home from a work trip from Vietnam back in September. His gift to me was a clay cardinal. My hidden desire was for our family to adopt again. When I opened this gift I knew what God was telling me. Here we are in mid-October and we are currently flying through our paperwork to bring home our little heart warrior. He will be two in May! Beautifully written. Thank you!
Oh, how I’ve missed your posts, Andrea! Ever so encouraging and pointing us to Him. I love your heart for Him and the closeness you experience with Him and gently call us to join you in. Simply beautiful, thank you!
What a touching post! I’ve tried to quiet myself to God’s whispers and sometimes I just feel so impatient! This was a great reminder that He is with us, in so many different ways! Thanks for being just what I needed to hear today!
Thank you so much for this! It has really blessed me today!