Bird Watching

One of my favorite things about my home is being able to look out over the water from both my bedroom window, and my living room balcony. Granted, from 7:30 a.m. until after most golfers can no longer actually see the ball, the lake also doubles as the aquatic driving range for Hurricane Creek Country Club. I love sitting on my balcony with a cup of coffee or iced tea as the sun sets over the lake. While keeping one eye out for a wayward golf ball; yes, I have found them on my balcony; the pink's, gold's, and orange's; both in the sky and reflecting on the water; is a photographer's paradise.

And then there is the wildlife! It's a common occurrence to see dozens of turtles sunning themselves on the banks, rocks protruding from the lake, and even on top of the drainage culverts! Early morning and late afternoon the edge of the banks are full of bubbles and an occasional flash of silver as the fish come to the shallow water to feed. Not long ago there was a group of young men, all gathered around the fence with their cell phones, taking pictures of a very large water moccasin that appeared to be making a morning snack out of one of those fish.

But the thing I enjoy the most are the birds. Our swan couple: they glide up and down the lake, not caring that golf balls are being hit towards them. They love to come out of the water to eat the bread, crackers, dried corn and cheerios (What? My 4 year old niece was at the house and it's all I could find!) the kids throw over and through the fence. It isn't long before they're joined by a handful of geese who've taken up residence on the lake. Watching these guys fight over the tossed treats always makes me laugh. They try to out run each other; squawk, hiss and snap to intimidate another; and will even take their body and shove a smaller goose out of the way to get to the food. There are also two white cranes, but they aren't very social and spend most of their time at the far end of the lake, wading in the water and diving for their dinner.

I've also seen a variety of song birds in the trees. So the last time Hubby and I were at Lowe's; I detoured through the patio section and bought a hanging bird feeder. I chose one of the feeders that you can just open the feeder, pop in a bird seed cake, close it up and hang it. Easy to do, instant bird watching. Right?

Wrong. It's been hanging on my patio for almost two months, and I've yet to see a bird eating my bird seed. Earlier in the week, I mentioned to my husband that I guess I'd wasted my money on the bird feeder. My son came into the room about that time and said "Mom, what are you talking about? There is a huge hole in it on the other side!" He went out onto the balcony, turned it around to show that the birds had indeed been feasting on the apple suet~! But when had they been there?

This isn't what I wanted! When I bought the bird seed, I wanted to sit in my rocking chair and watch the red, and blue and gold wings swoop in, land on the feeder and eat the treats I had left for them. I wanted to be able to tell my visitors...Look there's my cardinal. He comes every day to eat from my feeder. What I got was birds that had crept in under the cover of darkness to grab a mouthful of food and fly off before being detected. They weren't engaging with the feeder...or the watcher. I was so disappointed!

But isn't this the way we are with God? So many times, we aren't spending time engaged with Him in prayer, or bible study, or even worship! I might breathe a prayer for help as I scramble to get the bathroom cleaned before company arrives. The extent of reading my bible might be to look up a verse that someone is asking for. How many times am I even guilty of using this smash and grab method in my worship?

Instead of singing, I read the bulletin. During the offering, instead of closing my eyes and allowing the music from the instruments to flow through me; I'm frantically writing a check. Instead of showing my children the correct prayer posture, I'm frantically talking...telling them to quit talking. Instead of concentrating on making sure I hear what God wants me to hear from the message, I'm concentrating on taking perfect notes because someone isn't there and they might want to see them.

What I really need to is feast on His words so that I am able to shout the words from Jeremiah:

Jeremiah 15:16

When I received your words, I ate them.
They filled me with joy.
My heart took delight in them.
Lord God who rules over all,
I belong to you.