A Time of Wonder

Hello friends,

In a few moments, I'll be stepping onto my treadmill. Who knows how far I'll walk, or how many trips it will take me to make a mile. I'm just thankful that I can walk. My husband gave me an MP3 player, so that I could listen to my favorite worship music. Oh me! I'm finally getting the hang of it, and yesterday was a wonderful worship day.

Because of pain and neurological issues, I can no longer hold my Bible to study and mark with highlighters of every hue. Writing comments and thoughts and prayers is also a painful process. So, my husband bought me a PDA with the complete NKJV Bible translation. There it is with Christ's words in red. I'm still learning how to use it. I can't be hurried, because I grew up in a different age, where writing, calligraphy, and penmanship was an art-form learned in grade school. We wrote with an instrument called a "quill." No, not the ones with feathers. I'm not quite that old. These were writing instruments similar to calligraphy pens. We would dip the points in India Ink, which stayed in our inkwell (that little hole in the top of old school desks). I can still smell the pungency of the ink, as I uncapped the bottle; and I can still hear the sound of pen on paper, carefully written so as not to smudge the ink or tear the paper.

So, now, I'm using this computer to write to you, and I'm listening to music on my MP3 player, as well as studying my Bible on a tiny computer that fits into the palm of my hand. WOULD THE WORLD PLEASE SLOW DOWN??? It's bad enough that I'm dragged kicking and screaming to each new technological discovery, but please, don't change anything until I take a second breath. Then I'll get on my motorized treadmill, pushing play on my MP3, and I'll worship the old fashioned way, heart to heart with God.

I will thank Him for the wild turkeys that come all the way up into my yard, just to feed on the bird seed scattered beneath the feeders. I'll thank Him that I'm not careful enough to get all the seed into the feeders. I'll thank Him for my aching hands that cause the seed to spill on the ground. I'll thank Him for a tender heart that makes it so easy for tears to well up in my eyes, as I contemplate the wonders of His creation. Oh, sure, there are those who insist, let the wildlife remain wild and fend for themselves. Of course, I would if we truly lived in the wild, and there was enough wild food for the wild birds. But I know better. God knows what we have done to our planet. And why are we on this earth? To ignore little creatures who have no food? Jesus said, that God feeds the birds, but in our uncertain world, shouldn't we do His will, which is to see that His critters are fed?

On our back deck, we have a few potted plants and small trees, which attract the birds. They are nesting earlier, and they are continuing to hatch later. We've watched a plethora of babies grow into breathtakingly beautiful adults, who all cluster around our birdbaths and feeders. It feels like our hands are in the hands of God; and I believe that with each new bird that we can save, that God smiles on our efforts.

Oh how different it was when I was young, and I was first learning how to scratch my name with my lovely quill pen. Birds appeared without number. Small animals were abundant. I grew up in Florida, and I can still remember visiting flamingoes in all their pink and scarlet beauty. In the past ten years in our yard, we have concentrated on wildlife plantings, and now wildlife comes to us, even as the animals came to Noah. How do we not know that our yards are the Ark of the future, and what we do, will save an entire species? I only know that my heart skips a beat every time I see the trust in the eyes and behavior of the wildlife, who depend on me. I can only do as much as I can.

So, now, as we download music into our MP3s, and we text message our friends in code, so that we don't have to actually write in syllables, and as I study my Bible on my PDA, perhaps we can also remember those little ones whom God expects us to care for. At least, that's how I see it.

Thank You, Lord, for each new life that I can touch, and help me, oh Lord, to heal and not harm. Let me not miss, but to look, for all the gifts of nature that I have forgotten before. Help me not to hide my eyes. Fill my heart, oh Lord, with wonder for each living thing. Help me to protect what is Yours. And let me never forget how to feel the wonder of your loving kindness and mercy and grace. Let my heart be a reflection of Your living waters, a spring that will never be filled.

Please, dear friends, pray for the people in California, who have had to flee from their homes, because of the fires. And for the animals that they, too will be saved. Let us also pray for the southeastern U.S., that has suffered so much drought. And let us not forget to pray for ourselves.

With love,
Jaye Lewis
www.entertainingangels.org
http://entertainingangelsencouragingwords.blogspot.com/