No Flashing or Flinching

"Pride"

I heard some chirping outside our apartment. One day, it was from the side where there is no tree anymore, so it made me wonder where they could be chirping from? On another day, it was the other side, where the cuckoo used to be but is no longer. It has been such a long time since we heard the birds there. I resisted the urge to grab my camera and get a shot of the source of the chirping, telling myself I might scare it away. And probably, it would never come back. I really would like some bird to take up lodging--for a long stay--nextdoor, on either side, give us "ear fulls" of song again.

Resisting temptation is a bit like that, isn't it? It shouldn't be resisting only because we are refraining from doing something that displeases God, but because we really would like to keep the "heart fulls" of joy that come when we please Him!

So this time, I am not posting any pictures of the birds in the tree--or on the rooftop of the house on the other side--but photos of two birds I have been wanting to post for a long time.  (Does anyone know if the first bird is a cuckoo or not?)

Feathered Chameleon

Most birds fly away when I get too close. But there was one very unusual bird who let me get real close and did not look anxious...and it didn't look like it was the type that was used to human beings either, like the doves at the park. This one was flying free and alone, and stopped on a wall nearby. It was so close, I decided to get a picture. But it let me take a picture then move closer, take another shot, move even closer. And it didn't look the least bit frightened! I wondered why.

When I got home and viewed the photos I had taken, I realized there were several with only a wall and a bush behind it. That bird had been camouflaged, and I had to keep touching up the photo to get it to a place where it could be seen (this is the pic I'm posting, not what it originally looked like).

I said to myself, the bird somehow knew it was camouflaged, and thought I couldn't see it! So he hadn't been afraid.

You've probably beat me to the parallel: Although that birdie was wrong in thinking it was invisible, we really are hidden in God's protection and have no reason to fear when normally threatening circumstances loom in our faces!

Gotta go get lunch together....