Back in June, I introduced you to sweet-singing mama wren and the squawking blackbird. In short, I was encouraging all of us to strive more for a wren-like disposition and less like the abrasive blackbird. You can see the full story here.
Well, I now have an August update for you, with more bird lessons to share. Recently I was getting ready to mow my lawn which requires three full trips around the yard. Trip one is to pick up dog poop. Trip two is the trimming round, and trip three is the actual mowing.
Guess what? Mama wren now has actual babies in my little wren house out back and she was NOT happy with my multiple trips past it. I had seen her entering her little home with goodies for her brood and also heard their sweet little peeps recently. Even without those evidences of her children, I would have known she now had babies to protect.
Sweet-singing mama wren had turned into angry-squawking mama wren. Yep, she was now competing with the nasty blackbird from this past June.
I found myself wanting to console mama wren and tell her that I would never harm her babies. I wanted her sweet melodic voice to fill my backyard again. I had decided that squawking did not fit my image of this little songster and wanted things set aright in my backyard kingdom.
And then I realized that, of course, mama wren had every right to be squawky because, hello? She’s defending her babies! I’m not sure what must have looked or sounded scarier to her – my dog poop scoop, my weed whacker, or the mower. Poor thing. Squawk away at me! I’ll be out of your space as soon as possible.
And then the lessons came. There are situations and circumstances where our own squawkiness may be justified. Perhaps it’s even in defense of YOUR children. And there’s the infamous “righteous indignation,” although we must be careful not to paint all of our angry outbursts with THAT broad brush.
My cautious point to you is that, yes, there may be a few occasions where you feel a bit of rancor is justified, just like mama wren did. Lesson #1
As I thought back to the squawky blackbird from the earlier post, I realized that I too quickly chastised her for squawking at me when, in reality, she had the EXACT same reason as mama wren. Did I grant more grace to the sweet little songbird because she is so cute? Do I do the same with people in my life? Am I more lenient with some squawkers than others? God doesn’t discriminate with HIS lavish grace. You and I shouldn’t either. Lesson #2
What if I hadn’t known that both mama birds had new babies they were protecting? What if they seemed to be squawking for no good reason that I could see? Pretty sure I would have felt they had no right to squawk at me even though I couldn’t possibly know what their little bird worlds looked like. Don’t we make some of those same judgments with squawky people in our lives? If we can’t clearly see what might cause this irritating behavior, then surely they need to get a grip and stop the grumpiness. Just because we can’t see the cause of their distress doesn’t mean it’s not legitimate – or deep seated. Lesson #3
Once the yard-mowing danger was over, eventually mama wren’s sweet songs could be heard again, and that made me smile…again. Do we return quickly to a sweet, Christ-like “song” after our justified (or not) squawking? Or are we hanging onto whatever sent us there in the first place? I struggle with letting go of resentment more than I’d like to admit, even if it’s justified in my mind. But returning to a kind and patient disposition is one of the best ways to be a witness for Christ. And it’s HIS Spirit that can bring that song back into our hearts so we can bless those in our own backyards. Lesson #4.
Thank you, God, for using one of your precious creations to teach me more about your grace, and your sweet song.
Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt,
so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
Colossians 4:6
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