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Janine Claire Robinson
Port Elizabeth, South Africa
Welcome to my little writing corner. I count my many blessings to be a cherished wife and an ever-learning-loving-growing mother to 3 amazing children this side of Heaven and a precious little boy in Heaven. Together as a family we pastor a precious church community called Redeeming Hope Church. I've had the privilege of loving and following Jesus Christ since my earliest memories as a child. No matter what I've gone through in life, He has always been so present. At heart, I'm an encourager ... so this is a place where I get to wear my heart on my sleeve and share my journey of learning to live a life of love in action.

A Lesson from a Sweet Mamma Bird

A few weeks ago, a fellow blog friend and I were writing back and forth about the wonder of seeing how applicable the Bible still is in speaking so directly into our every day life situations. God's Words of life are so specific! They are alive and carry the weight of wisdom and freedom for anything that we will ever face. A few days ago, God graciously played out the most precious demonstration of His Word for us as a family to witness. He is after all the very best story teller I know and He paints His words of life into the most precious pictures in our every day lives if we have eyes to see and take notice. Here's the passage ...
"That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life - whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn't life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don't plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren't you far more valuable to Him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?" Matthew 6:25-27
It all started the morning after a very stormy night. The wind had been howling and the rain had pelted down hard. As the girls walked through the garden the next day, they discovered a little baby bird who had fallen in the storm. Amazingly, during the night, my eldest had dreamed that she would find a little bird. In the past when we have found these little tiny birds, we have always taken them to the vet or to a friend of ours who has a special soft-spot for nurturing little birds back to health, but it was the weekend. The vet was closed and our friend was sick. It was us and the bird ;0) To be honest ... we haven't always had "happy endings" when trying to rescue these tiny creatures, but the girls were super excited to look after our new addition. We learned that this particular bird is a little meat eater called a 'butcher bird' so off we went to the shops to find some mince. After what felt like ages and a whole lot of encouragement, we finally got the little bird to eat a little. Seeing the girls determined care for this little bird, I couldn't help but plead my case with our Heavenly Father to somehow keep this little bird alive through the night. It would have crushed their hearts if it never made it. As faithful as He always is, we all woke up at something past five in the morning to the hungry cries of our little bird. As the morning wore on, Tianna walked outside with the bird cradled in her hands. Later in the day my sweet mom who is staying with us came running inside to call us. She had been in her room when she heard the frantic cries of a rather persistent and undeterred mamma bird seeking out her baby! It all seemed too good to be true. This amazing momma bird had heard the cries of her baby and was flying back and forth searching for it. And so we decided to make a little nest and put the baby bird out to see if she would come and find her baby. 
Within seconds, as we all stood back, she swooped down and found her baby! 
She relentlessly flew back and forth with little worms in her beak feeding her long-lost baby!!! 
Over the following week, she faithfully warded off any person or bird coming anywhere near her baby and continued to feed it and reassure it when it called for help. I even got a glimpse of it's little siblings coming to give it a visit! It was so incredible watching these little ones learning to fly. She watched over that little baby until it was strong enough to fly off and fend for itself. This privileged demonstration of God's love in action through His creation has so deeply touched my heart. 
Watching God's heart and care through this devoted mamma bird has made God's word come alive to me once again. Why should I walk around carrying the cares of this world on my shoulders when God is infinitely more devoted to watching, caring and providing for us as His children than even that faithful momma bird was. He too sees all we are going through with an incredible perspective. He sees things from the beginning to the end. He sends precious ones along the way to be His arms and feet ... to be those bearers of His love. Just as He prompted Tianna to be on the lookout for a fallen little bird, could it be that He too moves on our hearts to be an extension of His heart to those around us every day who may just need a temporary set of arms to bestow kindness and practical care in times of need? This little mamma bird has given me much to think about and once again I stand amazed at just how deep the love of God is to take the time to unveil another simple, yet powerful truth to me to inspire me on my journey of learning to live a life of love in action.
All my love xxx
Janine 

Comments

Lori said…
Always love your heartfelt and inspiring testimonies via your blog, Janine! Sweet baby bird--and sweet girls too!
Unknown said…
Beautiful thank you Jan for sharing.

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