A Little Bird Told Me

We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us…

Romans 5:3-5

These last several days I've been woken up in the morning by the insistent tapping of a little bird on my window. I wish I knew Morse Code so I could interpret what secrets little birdie is trying to tell me. He is a study in persistence as he pecks the window, hops around a little and returns to peck the same spot, over and over again. I wonder what this is all about. Is he trying to get through the window to the other side? Or is this perhaps some part of an elaborate mating ritual? Or maybe he's just having some morning exercise. I don't know. But this I do know: as insistent and unflinching as he may be, barring a major miracle, he's never going to get through the thick glass.

In Jesus' Parable of the Persistent Widow, Luke 18, he tells of a woman who got justice for herself and her family by her insistence. Luke starts his narrative this way, "Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up." There is a lot of value in the teaching of this passage - that we must be persistent and insistent, even in prayer, and we will get what we ask for. But through our own experience we know that we do not always get what we desire. Sometimes we find ourselves up against a thick glass wall, pecking away with no help in sight. What do we do then?

I've learned two things from little birdie. First of all, keep trying. The thing about life that we must keep in mind is that it is not a destination. Life is a journey and getting where we are going is only a little part of it. The trials and testings we face are what make life what it is. So, to the extent that we can, we ought to bask in the sunlight of our testing. The thing about perseverance is that it builds in us character: traits such as hope, resilience and patience. We may not get to the destination, but like the heroes of faith (Hebrews 11:39&40) that may be because there is something much better in store.

The other thing I've come to understand from watching my feathery friend is to take a break. He doesn't pound on the window for too long at a time. Like I said, he pauses between glass-pecking sessions to hop around a bit, and once the morning session is over, he flies away till the next day. In our endless drive to succeed we must learn the value of taking a step back to evaluate what it is we are about. Remember what James said, "And even when you do ask, you don’t get it because your whole motive is wrong..." (James 4:3) When we take a break, aside from giving us a chance for much-needed rest it enables us to look at things critically and, perhaps objectively, and decide whether our pursuits are really worth running after.

By the way, I finally deciphered what little birdie was trying to tell me all along. It's quite simple really: "Wake up oh sleeper! Rise … and … shine." (Ephesians 5:14)

With love, Doosuur.