The Lord is my strength and my shield ; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exhults, and with my song I give thanks to him. Psalm 28:7
The LORD is my strength
I've always said if I could choose a time period to live in, I'd choose to live in the pioneer times. I'd be happy in my simplicity with my log cabin and fresh-baked bread. I'd look good in a bun and no make-up. Then again, in the pioneer days there would be no Google to search for the definition of the word 'docent' or 'cicerone'. I wouldn't be able to find a recipe by typing the words 'tomato, feta and avocado' into my phone.
And I wouldn't be able to search for the answer to questions like "Why do birds perch on power lines?".
I actually did that.
The other day I was feeling overwhelmed (surprise, surprise... I stay in a constant state of some degree of overwhelmance /made up word alert/).
As I was racing to the car I spotted a group of birds situated on the line in our backyard. I've seen them there a hundred times.
I envy those birds; their being so stable,
unmoved by all the world hurrying around them
They're unafraid of falling, those birds.
They know.......I mean they really know they have no better place to be than on those heights; it's the place where their grasp is firm.
I jumped in the car and did a quick google search "Why do birds perch on power lines?" hoping that I might find an answer; anticipating that God might have carefully situated nature once more to teach me something.
Here's what I found:
Many birds like a view from the highest vantage point possible...., said Miyoko Chu, director of communications for the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology....
Call me simple-minded, but a bird's eye view is just what I need.
I need a placewhere I am not overcome by appointments and my unchecked list of obligations.
A place where I can be still, even when I have to keep moving.
I want to be in that place where I can survive things gone wrong
like a sticky kitchen floor from spilled mandarin oranges
or sick kids and one kid that I had a big fat blow out with
A place above difficult circumstances.
I need my own powerline.
I'm glad to be reminded that I have one. God kindly tucked it deep within me so it might be with me wherever I go, whatever may befall me........... Makes me think of a song.
My heart has no desire to stay
Where doubts arise and fears dismay
Though some may dwell where these abound
My prayer my aim is higher ground
I want to live above the world
Though Satan's darts at me are hurled
For faith has caught the joyful sound
The song of saints on higher ground
(Higher Ground)
The power to live beyond the mess is within us.
On second thought, the pioneer days didn't have google, power lines or this hymn that's got me humming again. I'll take today... and I'll be thankful for my vantage point.
