On Friday we had an ice storm that reshaped our days following.  Our electricity went out Friday evening due to thousands of fallen trees across power lines.  Not just our area, but a large swath of towns and cities across the metro and rural areas of our county and the next were affected.  As you can imagine, our lives slowed down.  There were no phone calls or texts to make or receive except the rare moments when we had cell reception.  (We depend on WiFi for our phones to work because we live on the fringes of cell tower reach. No power, no internet.). There were no emails to read and answer.  There was no news to read.  We were cut off from the outside world.  We are so grateful for our daughter who lives only 15 minutes away, good neighbors next door, and our woodstove that heats our house and our food.  We became even more aware of God’s kind care and provision.

(All photographs were taken early in the freezing rainstorm. The ice got thicker during the cold night, but thawed the following day.  However, the power company’s job of restoring service to such a big area is daunting.  So many trees to be cleared before the lines can be repaired!)

So much of my daily enjoyment was from communication with family and friends.  It was my delight to hear news from our adult kids and grandkids and vicariously participate in their lives.  I liked being in touch with friends so I could think about other’s needs instead of just my own.  Now all that contact was severely curtailed.  So much of my mental stimulation came from the challenge of learning new things, and the delight of producing beautiful things for others.  But both depended on the internet and/or my computer.  Suddenly, that large part of my day disappeared with the last electron through our electrical wires.  I never realized how much of my daily motivation stemmed from pushing forward in that one area of my life.  Each morning I wanted to get up and ‘get going’ so I could do the daily routine of breakfast, laundry, and cleaning up so I could sit down at my computer and work on a project.  The first full day of being cut off, I had to force myself to get off the sofa.  I couldn’t think of anything I wanted to do.  All the projects that had fueled my drive were gone.  Then I realized that during daylight hours I could read.  I read new books. I read old books that hadn’t been off the shelf in years.  Some I read out loud to dear Husband, some I read slowly and tried to digest the deep truths.  Some strictly for fun, some for spiritual encouragement.

The second day our dear daughter and her husband and their youngest daughter came over for a much-appreciated visit.  Being with loved ones worked wonders for our outlook!  More daylight reading and some time outside between rainstorms.  That afternoon, a flock of birds flew merrily by our window.  But one poor little one was a bit too enthusiastic and had a collision with our window leaving behind a few telltale feathers to prove it.  I ran to the window to check for a little bird body on the ground.  Nope, nothing. Good!  But wait, maybe I better go out and make sure.  Ok, don’t see anything.  It must have been lucky.  But a small, selfish part of me was disappointed.  I was hoping for a little diversion on this rainy afternoon while dear Husband slept in his chair.  I was hoping to cuddle a bird, admire it up close, and then hopefully release it when it had got its wits back.

Then I saw it.  Huddled on the deck beside the house wall.  Its eyes were open, so it was alive and somewhat alert.  I happily scooped it up and took it into the house.  It blinked but didn’t struggle as I stroked it and held it against my body to warm it up while I admired its drab-colored, but shiny feathers.  Immediately the verse about a sparrow not falling to the ground without God knowing came to mind.  God was giving me a Valentine’s love gift and caring for his little bird at the same time. 

Soon I felt its tiny feet move in my hand.  Its head turned a little and a more alert look came into its eyes.  I relaxed my hand just a bit to give it breathing room.  But it took the opportunity to jump out of my hand and into the air.  Living rooms aren’t very conducive to disoriented flights and it soon ended up on the floor beneath the same window it had hit on the other side earlier.  Now it was in full panic mode and did a low-level flight into the hall ending up once again on the floor.  As I slowly approached, I talked to it, but it was obvious he wasn’t convinced I had his best in mind.  Finally, with the help of a towel, I captured it and took it outside.  In two seconds it was airborne and headed for some cover.  Sometime later his flock returned and I like to think he rejoined them.

“What is the price of five sparrows—two copper coins? Yet God does not forget a single one of them.  And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.”  Luke 12:6-7

“The Lord is good to all;
    he has compassion on all he has made.”  Psalm 145:9

I hope you’re not thinking that my imagination ran wild and I imagined that God cared about such an insignificant, tiny creature and about his lonely daughter.  Do you think God is too elevated to concern himself with such lowly things?  Scripture tells us otherwise.

“The high and lofty One who lives in eternity, the holy One, says this; ‘I live in the high and holy place and also with those whose spirits are contrite and humble.  I restore the crushed spirit of the humble and revive the courage of those with repentant hearts’.”  Isaiah 57:15

I can assure you that he is intimately, and continually connected to the entirety of his creation.  He made it/us and faithfully cares for what he created.  Nothing is random, or wasted, or unnoticed.  Not little birds, not isolated old ladies.  He sees, he cares, he helps.

“Even to your old age and gray hairs
    I am he, I am he who will sustain you.
I have made you and I will carry you;
    I will sustain you and I will rescue you.”  Isaiah 46:4

I’m so happy that our heavenly Father isn’t too high, too busy, or too disinterested to care about little birds and old ladies!  This week, let’s let our souls rest in the God who doesn’t forget us.  Let’s remember that we are valuable to him, no matter how insignificant we are.  Let’s snuggle into the one who made us and is carrying us.