put a bird on it

Dear Anna,

I thought it would be fun for you to get a long letter when you are at Uncle Jim’s in CA.

I love that our verse to memorize this month is from Matthew 6 as that is something that I was meditating on last week while you were at camp.  One night last week after my class, I got to go over to Libby Chapman's house as she has opened up her home this summer a few times for "Space for God". We did Lectio Divina together (reading a passage 4 times and sharing reflections on it).   She talked about how sometimes we have apps on our phone that we don't even know are open but they are draining the battery from our phone.  (You are often the one to close those apps for me on my phone because I don’t even realize how many I have open!!)  In the same way, there are some anxieties we carry around that we may not even realize are there that are draining life out of us.  

We read Matthew 6 in these two translations below which made them come alive to me. 

Matthew 6:24-34 The Voice Translation 

24 No one can serve two masters. If you try, you will wind up loving the first master and hating the second, or vice versa. People try to serve both God and money—but you can’t. You must choose one or the other.

25 Here is the bottom line: do not worry about your life. Don’t worry about what you will eat or what you will drink. Don’t worry about how you clothe your body. Living is about more than merely eating, and the body is about more than dressing up. 26 Look at the birds in the sky. They do not store food for winter. They don’t plant gardens. They do not sow or reap—and yet, they are always fed because your heavenly Father feeds them. And you are even more precious to Him than a beautiful bird. If He looks after them, of course He will look after you. 27 Worrying does not do any good; who here can claim to add even an hour to his life by worrying?

28 Nor should you worry about clothes. Consider the lilies of the field and how they grow. They do not work or weave or sew, and yet their garments are stunning. 29 Even King Solomon, dressed in his most regal garb, was not as lovely as these lilies. 30 And think about grassy fields—the grasses are here now, but they will be dead by winter. And yet God adorns them so radiantly. How much more will He clothe you, you of little faith, you who have no trust?

31 So do not consume yourselves with questions: What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear? 32 Outsiders make themselves frantic over such questions; they don’t realize that your heavenly Father knows exactly what you need. 33 Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and then all these things will be given to you too. 34 So do not worry about tomorrow. Let tomorrow worry about itself. Living faithfully is a large enough task for today.

Matthew 6:24-34The Message (MSG)

24 “You can’t worship two gods at once. Loving one god, you’ll end up hating the other. Adoration of one feeds contempt for the other. You can’t worship God and Money both.

25-26 “If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.

27-29 “Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.

30-33 “If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

34 “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.

As we took some time to be quiet and to reflect on these passages, Libby suggested that we could try to write out the scripture in our own words and apply things that might be worrying us at times.  Among other reflections about trust and faith, many of the significant people in my life came to mind.  And of course you are among those most dear to my heart, Anna…

"Don't worry about Anna. Look at the birds of the air. They do not store food for winter. They don't plant gardens.  They don't sow or reap- and yet they are fed and tended to because God feeds them. And don't forget that Anna is more precious to Him than a beautiful bird.  If He looks after them, of course He will look after Anna.”

I laughed in thinking about the Portlandia skit that made this quote famous: "Put a bird on it". I think that's indeed the best thing to do. Why not just "put a bird on it" so that I will be reminded not to worry and to be reminded that we are more precious to Him than a beautiful bird.  

I am praying that you will see some beautiful birds while you are there in CA and that these will be sweet reminders to you like a tender kiss on the cheek that God loves you.