Birds Will Sing

Did you know, that birds will sing, in temperatures of 25 degrees with a wind chill that will make it feel like 15 degrees?  I only know this because that was the exact temperature outdoors, about thirty minutes ago, when I walked into our house after dropping Ellee off to school.  And as I walked up our sidewalk, I looked over and saw this little bird.  Singing it’s heart out.  As though it were the warmest of Spring days.  Which it was not.

And it made me think.  Because I do believe that if I were that bird?  I’d be huddled down in my warm nest somewhere.  Comfortable.  Quiet.  Praying that one of these days, it would actually warm up a bit.  Maybe a little bitter that it hasn’t.  And considering all of this, I would definitely be the kind of bird that would let my circumstances affect my purpose.

I talked with one of our kids this weekend.  About a kid that was bullying them.  My child told me how hurtful it was.  And how they just wanted to get away from that person.  In thirty four years of living, I heard this story and told them to just let it go.  To not let other’s ugliness affect who they are.  To know that people choose how hurtful that they want to be, but we can only choose how we react to it and how we let it affect us.  And it sounded perfectly fine to me, because I’ve lived a little more.  And I’ve learned a little more.  But for them, it was still hard.  Because they are in elementary school.  And because some kids can just be mean.  And because they are only just learning how to deal with these sorts of things.

And in case you are wondering, it all ties together like this.  Life is hard.  It’s cold sometimes.  Bitter, winter cold.  People are mean sometimes.  And they will say hurtful things.  And sometimes, we just want to get away from it all.  Sometimes, we might even let it change who we are and what we are supposed to be doing.  But take some Monday morning encouragement, from the bird that was hanging out in my yard this morning.  Was it cold?  Probably.  But his little bird, was not bothered by it’s circumstances.  Not hurt by words.  Not hiding who it was.  Nope, it was singing.  It was chirping, strong and free.  It was fulfilling it’s purpose unhindered and unashamed.

Birds will sing, even on the coldest of Spring mornings.  And so should we…