Courage and a Cardinal

My niece Kim had an inspiring picture and quote on her Facebook page. I shared it on my own. A cardinal sits on a snowy pine. The caption is, “No matter what yesterday was like, birds always start the new day with a song.” I’ve noticed that, just by being who he is, no more and no less, a redbird’s song always makes me feel a whole lot better. Maybe it’s because it sounds like he is saying, “Cheer up; cheer up.”

Sometimes it’s hard to start the day with a song. A dream seems just out of reach; feelings are hurt; bodies grow fatigued; a harsh word clouds a sunny day. There’s something, though, about lifting up our heads and looking at a new day with hope that puts a song in the heart. And, if the song isn’t in our hearts, it can be in our mouths! That’s a funny thing but true.

Several times in the Old Testament, God commands the children of Israel to sing. He told the commander of the Israelite army to put the singers out in front. I can imagine when the battle was going against God’s people and the enemy looked mean and forbidding, the last thing they felt like doing was sing. But, they obeyed. I believe that as they sang, their courage rose. Songs do that. It’s miraculous. And, with the singers in front of the army, the army was probably encouraged too. That is, the Israelite army was encouraged; the invading army was totally discombobulated and wondered what was happening with this group of upstarts and were defeated.

Somehow, a cardinal flew into The Cemetery Club and landed on page 12 in Goshen Cemetery. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00Q5MVQ2S/ref=s9_simh_gw_p351_d0_i2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=desktop-1&pf_rd_r=0H4GF48G5F3R5F10JQBM&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=1970559082&pf_rd_i=desktop

And, was it the same one or a different one that perched on a tree in an old orchard in Best Left Buried.http://www.amazon.com/Best-Buried-Darcy-Flora-Mystery-ebook/dp/B00Q5OGDL0/ref=pd_sim_sbs_kstore_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0SJ6HFX9KZ1KS5P6SQPN

You see, Darcy and Flora like redbirds too.

That cheerful cardinal may have had a very bad day yesterday. Maybe there was a close encounter with a cat. Perhaps snow covered almost all of his food source; but, hey! That was yesterday! Today everything may go his way and if it doesn’t, so what? He’s God’s creature. He’s unique and God gave him a song that only he can sing. So he’ll sing it, whether he feels like it or not. And, so will I.http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=Blanche%20Day%20Manos&sprefix=Blanc%2Cdigital-text