The Privileged Life: Backyard Miracles

“Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young—even Your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God.” (Psalm 84:3)

Want to peek inside our birdhouse? 

This summer, for the first time, I put a teeny-tiny camera inside the bluebird house in our backyard…with astonishing, encouraging results!

We’ve had bluebirds in the box almost every year, but we’ve never seen the fledglings. Either they “flew the coop” without our observation, or something happened to the eggs. Are predators getting in? Do invasive birds take over the nest? Or does the heat create unfavorable conditions?

Four years ago, I had cleaned out their nest, only to find unhatched eggs. You can read my sad finding here: https://lightbournecreative.com/2019/10/01/the-privileged-life-infertility/

So, to watch the “inside story” of the birdhouse this year, I purchased an inexpensive endoscope camera online and put it inside the house. It’s not sophisticated enough to have a constant feed to my phone app, but I check on it periodically. 

Right away, we had tenants. Some lovely tree swallows battled it out with bluebirds for nesting privileges and won. The swallows raised a precious brood of four! As soon as they departed and I cleaned out their straw mess, the bluebirds moved in. 

Four perfect blue eggs showed up shortly thereafter. Yet I dreaded their viability. It was late in the season for this bird couple, and I wondered if the afternoon heat waves right now made for poor hatching weather.

After we hadn’t noticed the bluebirds in several days, I imagined the worst—that they had abandoned their nest. I tiptoed out with my camera connector to look inside last week. 

Instead of unhatched eggs, I witnessed a backyard miracle—just as the tree swallows had been, the bluebirds were parents to four helpless little birdlings. I watched as mama (or maybe it was papa) bluebird arrived, grub in beak, for a feeding moment. These tiny bird babies greedily opened their mouths with gaping smiles, ready for a meal every time one of their parents gently landed on the rooftop. 

I marveled.

How is this all possible? How does a pair of birds of the same breed meet up with each other in the wilderness, find a home, build a nest out of grass, lay eggs, incubate them to hatching, catch and feed bugs to them, and then teach them to fly??

Any one of these steps is a complete miracle, especially for a tiny feathered creature with a brain the size of a blueberry.

If we can’t comprehend the miraculous life cycle of a bird, how in the world can we figure out a God who put all this in place?

Too often, we try to put God in a box—defined according to our tastes and whims, all neatly wrapped up in a bow. We take Him out when we need something and then conveniently store Him back on the shelf until we’re ready to see Him again…maybe.

Then, we expect Him to perform miracles for us. We want to see fireworks, knights on horseback riding in, made-for-movie moments, superheroes arriving at the last minute. We want spectacular results to our prayers. And we’re disappointed when He doesn’t perform for us.

We are such self-centered, ignorant, pompous little people…not much different from the gluttonous little birdlings with gaping mouths.

Meanwhile, God is at work in so many ways we cannot know. As He has promised, He is working all things together for our good, for those He has called to follow Him. We have no reason to be afraid…He who provides nesting places for all of the birds is certainly providing for you.

The next time you see a bird, a rose, a cloud, a puppy, or a snow-covered mountain—remember that the God who created all these things made you as well. You are a miracle, evidence of His handiwork, the pinnacle of His earthly creatures. 

And His greatest miracle? He loves us in spite of ourselves, even though we often think we’re our own gods, completely oblivious to His presence all around us. In fact, He loved us enough to send His Son Jesus to die for us. That’s even more incomprehensible than our birdhouse circle of life. 

I invite you to marvel today at His great creation. Worship Him in the beauty and birdsong all around you. Hold fast to His love and His truth. Look for His tiny miracles…especially the ones His Holy Spirit is creating in Your own heart.

O Jesus, Lord of all heaven and earth, Lover of my soul, the Miracle Worker in my heart—open my eyes today to see the beauty of Your holiness and Your preeminent presence in our world, Your own creation. Help me remember that all of Your provisions for me are miracles, Your gifts of love. Let them drive me to my knees before You in praise and wonder. Make me ever ready to share Your joy and good news with others. In Your incredible name, Amen.

#miracles #iseemiracles #tinymiracles #backyard #bluebirdhouse #treeswallows #bluebirdbabies #nestlings

© Copyright 2023 Nancy C. Williams, Lightbourne Creative (text and photography)

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

To learn more about the grace of Jesus Christ, go to this page: https://lightbournecreative.com/good-news-for-you/