It’s cold today, a chilling 11 degrees even though the sun is shining brightly against blue skies with very few clouds in sight. The sun’s reflective rays are dancing on top of the snow that fell last week and gave us a blanket to cover the dryness of dead grass and muddy piles created by a brief thaw in the midst of winter. When the snow is deep and not much old growth from last summer’s blooms are left for the bunnies and birds to forage, I take comfort in providing bird seed or a suet cake for their dining pleasure. Dried pieces of bread sometimes are added to the area where our resident critters visit. I never tire of seeing who visits the cake that hangs from one of the pine tree branches outside of our bedroom window.

This morning a woodpecker made a dining reservation and enjoyed the suet for quite awhile. As he swayed to and fro in the movement created by his own antics of hanging on to the cage, I marveled at his endurance in the cold and seemingly lack of concern for other birds who may want to feast as well. In fact, the smaller birds who stay during the winter months seemed content to stay on the ground and pick up the crumbs left behind from his steady pickings at the suet.

Watching birds, no matter what time of year, intrigue me. They are a consistant reminder for me about how much God loves me and goes to great measures to protect me…to provide for me…to surround me with many good things. Isaiah 46:4 says ” Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.” (While I don’t believe I have truly reached ‘old age’, I do have gray hairs.) I have never doubted that God created me, but there have been too many times in my life when I have doubted God’s promise to provide, sustain, and rescue. Those times were clouded with depending on myself or someone else instead of fully relying on God. Fortunately, when I reflect back on those incidents, whichever they be, I can definitely say with confidence that God always did ‘provide’, always ‘sustained’ me, and ‘rescued’ me when I wandered from His umbrella of protection.

On a cold wintry day the birds know where to find food to sustain them. For me, I’m inside a nice, warm, comfortable home and I know where to find ‘food’ too….inside the pages of my Bible. Spiritual food is important for my well-being. Like physical food for the body, I need God’s Word to feed my spirit, especially when I feel empty, lost, or lacking. Much like the woodpecker who hangs tightly onto the suet cage, I find myself hanging onto the promises of God that fill the pages of His Word. In times of danger I can ask for a ‘hedge of protection’ to be round about me. Psalm 121: 7-8 says “The Lord will keep you from all harm–he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.” When I feel lost, God will seek me among the darkness of my wanderings for “He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.” (Isaiah 40:11)

Do birds worry about daily provision? I don’t have a clue to that question. Using the instincts placed within their own created minds, they forage for seeds and visit the seed put out by loving hands. They know how to seek shelter, how to remain protected, and how to fly with great freedom. God’s Word, written by many hands inspired with great love, is my own food to satisfy my daily hunger. Every book, each thought was inspired by His Holy Spirit and is useful to teach me…correct me…rebuke me…sustain me…feed me…protect me. I know how to satisfy my ‘hunger’ and am thankful that I don’t have to go very far to find ample portions.  When the winds of life are blustery and threatening, I will hang on tightly. When I sense danger, I will keep a watchful eye and remember God’s faithfulness to protect me. When I falter or forget to be ‘sustained’ and ‘steadfast’ I will remember the antics of a beautiful woodpecker having a breakfast date with a cake of suet.