I collect nests. It’s the time of year the birds are done with making them, and their little ones venture out and away. Shortly after, I find a few per year on the ground after a surprise summer storm or wild winds blow unexpectedly. I enjoy arranging them in an indoor display and even tuck a few in my simple holiday decorations each year. Rarely do any visitors notice on their own, but I usually put them through the chore of finding them. It’s fun for me. They are filled with such beauty, but also are reminders of safety to me. They are natural safe havens for baby birds before they take flight into the world on their own.
There is so much God has given us in nature to learn from. All people have the need to feel safe at times, and I find chronically ill people have this need due to the constant uncertainties they live with. I know I do. Fear and anxiety can rear their ugly face. Nests remind me that my true home is safe in Christ. Bits of branches like God’s promises are woven together. Our little home encircles in words and I am reminded to share loving words, grace words and to comfort one another in our home, like that nest when winds here blow too. We hold hands of love both near and far. Here it is safe. Here we help one another. Here is Emmanuel, God with us, who whispers quietly in my heart and yours, do not be afraid.
