There are birds singing outside my window. Actually there is not a minute of the day or night that birds do not sing in the trees surrounding my house. They love it here, flapping across the lawn at knee level, making nests in the trees and rafters, sunbathing in the birdbath.They wake me up before dawn when what I'm praying for most is just a little more sleep.
I used to sleep well. But not lately. Not for years. My troubled mind is always set on overdrive and the birds, with their incessant chirping and bird caroling do not promote sound sleep. I never thought much about birds before moving into this house. Right after settling in, I noticed an odd array of aluminum pie tins hanging between the red tips which separate my property from the neighbors. I thought it strange that anyone would want to discourage birds. That was before. This is now. The birds are a pain in the ass. But what are you going to do?
The birds remind me that we are all on this planet like it or not sharing space with others who rub us the wrong way. We wish those people who cause us grief would just go away and disappear but they never do. They pop up at inconvenient moments when our agendas are full and our spirits are low and they demand attention.
The intrusive "birds" in my life come in all forms and they do not always sing melodiously. I've sometimes referred to them as "Daylight Robbers." Their presence is never welcome. But like it or not, the presence of life's intrusions are there for a reason. I usually smirk at such down home homilies of inspiration. But I have learned a few valuable lessons this week. When all seems lost, there is hope. Hope comes from the unlikeliest places. Mine came from far far away...from strangers who took me into their hearts. For someone like me, who long ago decided the cup of human kindness was not just empty but hijacked and replaced with all manner of evil, deceit and treachehry, finding human compassion is nothing short of miraculous.
Had I not been on the brink of a personal apocalypse, I would never have found these people. I am changed by having them in my life. I am made new. I am grateful.
Therefore I must now look on life's challenges as necessary. They open doors to the miraculous. Life's upsets invite the miraculous to flow. And my cup is full once more. At least for now.....
