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Listen to this devotional: |
Listen while you read: "God Sees The Little Sparrow Fall"1 (Lyrics) |
Matthew 6:26 – Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? (NIV)
Each day, for about four weeks, while enjoying my first cup of morning coffee, I have been watching the constant antics of two black squirrels. It didn't matter when I happened to glance out the window, rain or shine, they were tearing up and down this huge tree, chasing each other, pausing briefly to nibble something in the grass, then racing back up the tree. It has been highly entertaining and quite engrossing, as I have mentally joined in the game, wondering if it were a "hot romance", nest building, or simply filling up their stomachs.
A few days ago, I noticed that one had disappeared. The other one sat alone on a bare branch in the drizzling rain, a motionless little black bump swaying back and forth in the icy wind.
I felt a strange sadness as I watched the furry little creature through the rain drops trickling down my picture window. As I stood there, several questions flickered through my mind. What happened to its mate? Do squirrels have emotions? If so, how is it feeling? Abandoned? Frightened? Lonely? What will it do now? And why am I feeling this strange sadness over a squirrel?
I shook my head at these silly thoughts and busied myself with the long list of jobs that were waiting for me. However, I still caught myself snatching peeks out of the window several times during the day.
For the next few days, I caught occasional glimpses of the squirrel, and once again, I wondered why its aloneness seemed to touch me in such a way. Perhaps God was whispering some new lesson in my ear. Could it be that there was someone I knew who needed a phone call, or a cheery card, or even more importantly, a visit? Loneliness is a heavy burden to bear, especially on one's own.
We sing a touching little song that says:
- God sees the little sparrow fall,
It meets His tender view;
If God so loves the little birds,
I know He loves me too.
– Maria Straub, 1874
On second thought, I no longer consider my feelings toward that lonely little creature as silly, because it has brought to mind once again the immeasurable depth of the love of my wonderful God and the awesome fact that He, Who is love, loves me, too.
May I leave one question with you, my reader? Is there someone you know who might need a helping hand, a listening ear, a shoulder to lean on, or even a warm hug? He loves them, too, and He may be calling you to pass along His love.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, help us always to be aware of the unspoken needs of others and to remember the words of today's verse that remind us that You, our loving God, are aware of the needs of the sparrows, and will always be there to whisper new messages of love into our hearts. Amen.
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Continue to love.
Very thoughtful challenge Sharon.
Sharon – I loved today’s devotional. Isn’t it amazing how God speaks to us? God Bless.
Thank you Sharon. I appreciated every part of this devotional and analogies!! I needed to hear this.
Thank you for this tender-hearted message.
(Alabama USA)
Absolutely beautiful message, and so well written!! Thank you for continuing to teach and uplift this reader.
What a lovely devotional for today. It is a good reminder to be thinking of what we can do for others. Thank you.
Thanks, Sharon, for reminding us that little things mean a lot.
Blessings.
Lovely message Sharon. Shouldn’t worry about the squirrel being lonely. We seem to have an over-abundance of them here.
Great devotional! I was so engrossed in your story that I felt that I was there with you watching the antics of those squirrels and the reminder that God loves us.
Nicely written, Sharon. I’ve been watching chipmunks with my morning coffee! Surely, if we can care about them, we can care about other people!
Blessings.
Thank you for this wonderful message. I remember singing the little song in S.S. many years ago, and envisioning the wee bird in God’s hand.
This reassurance is most timely. Bless you.
Thanks for a good and touching word this morning Sharon. My heart goes out to that sad little squirrel. Having worked with animals all my life, I know they definitely have feelings and suffer at the loss of a friend.
Blessings.
Dear Sharon,
Such tenderness for God’s little creatures you have expressed! He loves me too. And what can I do to pass on Our Lord’s love? I pray that he will keep showing us.
Keep writing.
Sharon, thanks for this devotional reminder of God’s caring. Two red squirrels live in the trees in my yard. They’re forever raiding my bird feeders. Between the wide variety of birds and the squirrel pair, the entertainment never ends . . . like our Heavenly Father’s love. Thanks again and many Blessings.
Good Morning Sharon,
Your devotional this morning was a memorable one for me as it made me stop and think of the lonely people in this world who could use a friendly voice or visit. The squirrel story caused me to have questions such as you had. Thanks for writing this devotional.
(ON)
You will have to do a follow up about your squirrel. Is his partner dead? Or is there new babies??
Squirrels are fun to watch and have a real personality. My sister was in a LTC facility and another sister had put a bird feeder outside her window. It was fun watching the birds and this was to be a squirrel free feeder but we watched 2 squirrels come along — one goes to the top, the other one underneath. Between them they tipped the feeder half on the ground. This had been going on for some time and one day as we got there my sister told us the old squirrel going grey had with help, dumped the feeder again, then he raps on her window almost like saying there you can’t stop me. My sister loved his feistiness. She had a stuffed cat that my husband had put on her window sill he would move it about when the squirrel was there so he was getting back at all of us. Squirrels are part of God’s family too.
Enjoy your writings.
Sharon – I loved the story and the message.
God bless.
What a awesome and insightful devotion! Growing up on a farm dad always said we could learn a lot from the animals, guess he wasn’t so far wrong. Would we stand in the rain to wait on friend? Pains me to think of the number of times I have been too busy or covered it up with ‘they will be ok’. Thank you for reminding me it only takes a call or hug, so I better get busy! Blessings.