Father’s Day From A ‘Bird’s Eye View’

Recently I thought I heard a knock at my front door—the tapping was loud enough to send my fur-baby trio into a committed but highly exasperating bark session.

As I approached the door to answer my “surprise guest,” I noticed through the window no one was actually there, but rather a sparrow was thieving pieces of my wreath which hangs from the front door outside.

My OCD is kicking in about the wreath being off centered.

I watched for just a moment, amused at the idea this little bird had taken as much of a liking to my wreath as me—so much so that it was sneaking away with pieces of it.

I quickly understood what was going on, most likely this was a mama bird and she was gathering material which would eventually form a nest for her Spring babies.

Feeling about as cold-hearted as my chicken-slaying-neighbor I quickly opened my front door to snag the wreath and bring it indoors for rescuing. However when I stepped out of the house not just one but two sparrows were in an uproar over my actions.

One dive-bombed me coming within a few feet of my face while the other one kept distance but squawked and hollered wildly, surely throwing out curse words all the while. Neither of them were impressed, but nevertheless I managed to snatch the wreath and bring it safely indoors victoriously!!

Reflecting on this scene afterwards I realized mama and daddy bird were team working to build a nest for their babies. And here I had just sabotaged their efforts.

**Side note: No worries, there’s plenty of other nest building resources around these parts. I’m sure they recovered productively judging by the many bird droppings all over my patio…them and their friends retaliating on me I suppose. I’ve also, since that time, returned my wreath to it’s rightful spot where it currently hangs unbothered.

Focusing on Father’s Day, I share this story with you because I’m reminded just how important it is for a mother and father to both be involved in the nest building process; as silly of an analogy as that sounds, it’s so true!!

One of my most favorite, encouraging verses for parenting is this:

Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it. -Proverbs 22:6

That verse portrays a theme that parents are called to build a nest for their family through love and provision.

Simple truth but it takes dedication and perseverance and it’s not always easy.

Consider the sparrows again, they had to revise a nest building plan when I stripped the wreath from them…but we know because of their natural tendencies they’d have been able to come up with another option.

Sometimes (in the family circle) situations arise, attitudes flare, mishaps occur and our nest gets tousled about unexpectedly. Those negatives call for revamping and when we go to our resources and have made our Father in Heaven our number one priority then we’re quicker to get our nest back in order.

Check out what David wrote in Psalm 63:7, “Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.”

Help is needed when there is trouble; singing is a sign of joy—I’m wowed by how these two concepts mesh in the above verse as David gives praise to God even in the midst of his turmoil.

As parents or even as mentors to a younger generation, keeping our Heavenly Father’s ways close at heart by reading His word and maintaining a relationship with Him sets a beautiful example to the little eyes watching. Fixating our focus on Him (in the good, bad, and everything in between) we create a lasting legacy that blesses those following in our footsteps.

Our Father in Heaven, who teaches perfectly, is watching with a bird’s eye view…and I just want nothing more than to praise Him that the nest my husband and I are building (as a team) is one graciously covered by the shadow of His wings.

As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him. -Psalm 103:13

Author: alimw2013

About For His Purpose~ My name is Alicia and I'm a thirty-something year old who loves Jesus. Only through God’s amazing grace and mercy I have been redeemed from past regret and shame. Reading His word has allowed me to look past Satan’s forceful lies, to see myself for who Christ says I am in Him. Through writing I have learned why I made the choices I made in my younger years and I now have a better understanding of why I desire to love God like crazy these days. Despite my daily failures, God remains faithful always. I am reassured of His unconditional love for me by every ink-drop spilled out on paper, each committed prayer as I cry out to Him, and deep understanding reflected through reading His word as truth. Yes keeping a blog will make me vulnerable to others’ opinions- there will be some who don’t understand, some who may criticize or judge, but on the other hand if just one piece expressed through my writing grabs someone’s attention and directs them to God, then pouring out my heart in a blog for the world to read is worth it. I choose to glorify Him alone through words streaming across a glowing screen. And it wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t reveal the fact that I’m incredibly quirky; I’m my loving husband’s best friend, my vivacious kids’ craziest cheerleader and spiritual trainer (3 John 1:4). I love anything farmhouse and rustic style. I think cupping a warm coffee mug in the palm of my hands is more satisfying than the contents within. I share a common obsession with my husband for the mountains, but I would (without a doubt) settle for waves crashing against my legs at the Atlantic Ocean just as well, and I almost always have a Yorkie curled up on my lap while writing. *All photos are photographed by forhispurpose.blog and therefore may not be stored or photocopied in any manner.

44 thoughts on “Father’s Day From A ‘Bird’s Eye View’”

  2. A beautiful and tender post.
    We have two ‘pet’ seagulls, Scott and Sarah, who visit every day.
    Seagulls mate for life, and both Mama and Papa care for their chicks. 🤗

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. Ahhh Scott and Sarah, I love that!! That’s neat, I didn’t know that about them…seagulls are one of my favorites because they remind me of the beach I used to go to as a child where there were always too many to count.
      Thanks for reading and commenting Sally!❤️

      Liked by 1 person

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      2. We’re both good! Summer has been good, lots going on but we’re enjoying it!…And I love the heat over the cold so I’ve been outdoors a lot!!😉How are you?

        Liked by 1 person

  5. This a analogy was not silly. I really appreciated the story because it made me think of the birds we had been dealing with here. They kept trying to make nests in our garage, so we had to keep shooing them away because we knew what they didn’t – that it was a bad place to build a nest since we close our garage door. Then either they would be trapped in, or trapped out away from their babies.
    This post is such a great reminder to keep God first in our lives, especially when it comes to parenting. Children seeing their parents or other respected adults, this builds a strong foundation in their lives. It is truly priceless.

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    1. Your comment with your bird situation reminds me that sometimes God works in our lives in a way that may feel unpleasant or undesired at the time but He always sees behind the scenes at the big picture…just like you with the birds in your garage.
      It’s so easy to learn spiritual lessons through animals, plant growth, children’s innocence and words…so many God sightings in these things.

      Good reflecting with you!!❤️

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      1. Good point. That brings me comfort to remember that God always knows what is best. Even when life is unpleasant, we can trust Him.
        And So true! There is always a lesson to be learned, if we just take the time to open our hearts to the things God wants to show us.
        Good reflecting with you too, friend! 💕

        Liked by 1 person

  7. Your story of the wreath and the birds had me laughing out loud!
    I always love your posts. I love how you tell a story and relate it to the Bible. It makes me remember the verses so much better. You definitely need to turn these into a book!

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    1. Thank you Michelle, that’s really sweet of you! I think it’d be fun to create like a devotion, maybe a few devotion books dedicated to certain age groups but I wouldn’t have a clue where to begin as far as publishing etc.
      I’m a huge fan of analogies, they keep me on the lookout for how God is working in my life or speaking to me.❤️

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      1. I know a lot of people start out with Amazon publishing but I don’t have any idea how that works. But if you ever decide to do it, I’m buying the first book! 😀

        Liked by 1 person

      2. ❤️😊ahh that’s sweet of you!! I may just look into that one day!
        You’d have a fantastic book if you did one for crafts…and then maybe another one for all your helpful how-to’s, life hacks, etc

        Liked by 1 person

  9. I love this so much! And you even got a photo of the sparrow in action through the window. So cheeky of them! And I love all the scriptures you used. It’s a team effort for sure and I’m glad God is watching over our family too. 😘

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    1. Thanks Alan!!! Ya the ‘sky was the limit’ choosing verses for this post, so many good ones that paired up well. I had to limit myself!😅But yes Ps 63:7 fits great!❤️
      Happy Father’s Day to you!

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  12. I love the analogy and unique perspective Alicia. A birds perspective. We have a brown thrasher couple that has claimed a large area around their nest in a thick hedge. They are scary when we get too close. We also have a couple robins intent on raising their chicks in our rain gutter off the roof as it’s been very dry. That won’t end well as rain is coming. Sometimes I’m like that as well.

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    1. Thank you Gary for reading and commenting! Glad to know I’m not the only one with birds taking over! On top of the sparrows, we also have blacks birds and robins like crazy!!! Their droppings are frequent and large!!!!🙄😡

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  14. Wonderful analogy, Alicia. My parents modeled parenting-teamwork for my brother and me. They backed each other up–no playing one against the other! Both pitched in to keep order. And Dad gave Mom a break on frequent evenings by playing games with us, taking us on a bike ride or to the community pool, etc. They both upheld the same Christian values, made Sunday morning worship and the church’s ancillary offerings a priority. My brother and I received that positive and lasting legacy you mentioned, and for that I’m deeply grateful.

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  15. Great piece. We are indeed to seek to live exemplary lives. As we know the scripture some may read is our lives for we are living epistles. Thank you for sharing.
    ________________________________

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  16. That was a neat analogy! Very funny about the birds. It reminds me of one that was screaming at me the other night – it was annoying. I was outside on our porch trying to read and it was in a tree just screaming. Turns out our cat was laying under a tree – probably looking at their nest.

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