Yesterday, signs of spring abounded. So, armed with my camera, I captured a few, a robin on the hunt for a worm, a newly-opened clump of crocus. Then, there was my favorite sign of spring, being outside with Sara and Nathan. We had some wild games of hide and seek but they were worth a few twinges of my achy bones this morning.
Admittedly, in a day or two, we may wonder if those signs of spring were a bit premature. God set the cycle of nature. Whether spring has a few set-backs or not, it will get here. That’s the way God planned it.
Last night, for some reason, my thoughts took me back a few decades to my childhood, nighttime on the farm, and other birds who never failed to obey the routine that their Creator placed within them. These were not wild birds, they were farm birds–chickens. You’ve heard the old saying, “going to bed with the chickens”? Our flock had a very early bedtime, long before dark. They flew up on their roosts with much flapping, and a few squawks as they found comfortable places. Then, the noise dwindled to sleepy mutterings as somebody crowded another until, at last, all was quiet. After the chickens settled in, if noise erupted again in the hen house, Dad knew that something had disturbed them–a skunk or coyote, perhaps, and he would go to investigate.
God has a plan for people too. That plan is listed in the Bible. The Ten Commandments are not suggestions nor are they given to make life hard. They are sensible, proven rules for an orderly, productive, joyful society. God gave us His plan because He loves us and wants the best for us. And, then, with Jesus, came the greatest commandment of all-Love God, Love one another.
Trouble comes when mankind decides to deviate from God’s design. Disorder is the result. When we make up our own rules, ignoring God’s, we have nothing to cling to, nothing that will last. It is sort of like standing on shifting sand, under our feet one moment, gone the next. We need a firm. lasting foundation, to be able to believe in bedrock, steadfast truth.
When God set the world in place, His wisdom planned the seasons, the habits of animals, the desire within each of us for order and trust, to love and be loved. We are made in the image of God. Trouble comes when we forget that.
Spring, the return of the robins and the tenacity of early flowers are reminders that Someone far greater than I am is in charge of the universe. And, I’m grateful.
Speak Your Mind