Taking down bird feeders is one of the most difficult parts of a move for me. I hate the thought of sweet birds, which have become dependent upon me, suffering as I remove their source of food and fresh bubbling water. Every time I go through this process (this is home #7 for us), I ask my husband if I should put the feeders up at the next house. Every time my husband wisely answers with a paraphrase of Matthew 6:26…
“Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your Heavenly Father feeds them.”
My husband reminds me God has used me to feed the birds and He will continue to feed the birds, His creatures, after I have moved away. Although I know he is correct, there is still a distinct sadness with knowing I’m packing up shop; when the birds return the next day, there will be nothing there for them to eat and drink.
In reality, I know I am thinking in an anthropomorphic way, which is just a big word for giving human attributes to something which isn’t human. I know a bird doesn’t sorrow as I do when their provision changes. No, they go on to the next food source they have visited in the past. God feeds His creation, whether through my hand or the hand of other kind and benevolent neighbors.
Grief Observed
When it comes down to it, with each move, I grieve the loss of the comfortable and kind provision of my Heavenly Father. For whatever reason, He has moved my station in life and there is a deep feeling of loss as I move on to the next town.
There is sadness that comes with knowing that I will not be able to get spiritual food from my regular feeding spot (ie…our church). The refreshing bubbling water spoken into my life, whether through a pastor’s sermon or a conversation with a brother or sister in Christ, will be sorely missed. As I contemplate the question of where my backyard birds will get their next meal or their next drink of water, I’m also asking this question for myself.
Mourning Into Dancing
During times like these, I have to speak truth to myself. Verses like Psalm 84:11 declare there is no good thing God will withhold from those who walk uprightly. Psalm 139 encourages me in the fact of God’s intimate knowledge of all I am thinking, feeling and doing. God actually thinks of me and hedges me in.
Even as I experience heartache over the temporary loss of this church family, I can thank God I will be with them for all of eternity. I can also thank God, by faith, for the next body of believers which He will place me in.
As the familiarities of my current life get stripped away from me, I know God will be with me. I have to believe my loving Heavenly Father has a good plan to provide for me in the next town. Even more so, I can glory in His provision of Himself. As I mourn the loss of things dear to me, in the depth of my soul, I cry out with the psalmist…
“Whom have I in heaven but You? And there is none upon earth that I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart fail; But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever…But it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all your works.”
Psalm 73:25-26, 28