Tuesday November 17, 2020

Begin this new day by praying this prayer out loud. As you are able, consider kneeling as a physical expression of your commitment to Jesus as Lord of your life and the one you desire to lead you this day. Alternatively, you might consider placing a hand over your heart as you pray this prayer.

God of rescue and restoration, thank You for Your great and beautiful mission in the world. Here I am Lord, fill me with Your Spirit and send me.

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can anyone of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
Matthew 6:25-27

Before the Texas summer turned into that seasonal state that isn’t Fall but where the succession of 100-degree temperatures is broken, whatever that season is called, is when I found an unexpected guest living on our porch. On a little shelving unit where boxes of trash bags and other underutilized lawn equipment reside, inside a styrofoam faucet cover was a nest. In the days to come, Max would look forward to watching the mother bird fly from the trees to the nest. Then, it would become routine to check on the eggs every day until they hatched and we watched the mother frequently fly in to feed them until one day those alien-looking baby birds were gone. Now with wings strong enough to fly they are making their way to food and shelter because our Father in Heaven cares for them. They don’t worry about where to go nor wonder where to find their next meal. Why, then, do I spend a single second worrying about life? Why do you?

Do you know how valuable you are to God? Take some time this morning to consider the birds with me.

When you are finished with your time of reflection, close out this time with this prayer.

Father, help me to live this day to the full,
being true to You in every way.
Jesus, help me to give myself away to others,
being kind to everyone I meet.
Spirit, help me to love the lost,
proclaiming Christ in all I do and say.
Amen.