By Brenda Black
Three miles. That's the distance
between the home driveway and our little country church, give or take
a few hundred feet. The convenience for saving gas is diminished on
those Sunday mornings when every member of the household arrives on
the premises one person per vehicle. Most days, the caravan consists
of two – the early shift and the late shift. Recently, I opted to
go with my early bird preacher husband who gets to work way before
anyone else. Since I arrived long before others would gather or my SS
class needed my presence, I lingered in the parking lot. The sun
warmed my right side through the open car door and a gentle breeze
welcomed me to God's property. I was thoroughly at peace and glad I
made that choice.
Suddenly, something swooped right
past the front windshield and nearly entered my Impala! A Barn
Swallow gave me an up-close-and-personal, “Good Morning!” We
were parked very near a muddy nest and morning exercise drills were
in progress.
I thought this must be an industrious
mother tending her babes. Then I noticed multiple split-tail acrobats
ducking and diving a few feet ahead. They were fledglings,
exuberantly testing their wings – all but one that is. Five little
swallows chirped and careened past the mud and twig built nest over
and over coaxing one timid sibling, who sat firmly and defiantly
attached to home.
I marveled at how sturdy that little
abode to hold six wiggling, flapping youngins; and how industrious
the parents who constructed it. Nest building is a time consuming
process for busy swallows who sometimes have to travel several
hundred yards to a stream bank or other source of mud.
My mind snapped back to the one
straggler. By then, he had dared to take a mere 2-foot flight to
another mud glob in the opposite corner of the porch on this old
school house that sits opposite our church. The family swooped again
in waves of encouragement, bidding him take flight with them. Several
minutes passed while the stubborn swallow refused to fly. Finally he
launched to join the rest.
They cheered with chirps and aerial
acrobatics. Then quickly, after the group was all air born, they
disappeared as one. The aerial show ended, and only faint, audible
evidence indicated that they may have congregated in a nearby tree.
All I could think was that I just
witnessed a winged version of the congregation that would soon join
me in this sacred place. The House of God is a refuge. Some cling to
it desperately and care for it meticulously. Some take flight from it
and grace the world with their joyful exuberance. It's where we are
fed and encouraged. Our brothers and sisters in Christ encircle us
with prayers for courage, cheers for success. Here, we learn to
spread our wings and take risks. In this holy place, we find the
wherewithal to soar!
Since that sudden epiphany, I've
learned more about the Barn Swallow that helps me realize to a
greater extent how important it is to heed the lessons the Lord gives
from even the smallest creatures.
1. When feeding young, the swallows
fly from before dawn until after sunset, while taking very few rests.
Time is of the essence. In a world
saturated with sin and deceit, feeding our children the Truth of
Christ is critical for survival. And that takes good old fashion hard
work! Talk about it when you sit at home and when you drive down the
road. Tell them about Jesus when they lie down at night and when they
rise in the morning. (Deuteronomy 6:7-9) Little swallows work their
scissor tails off to make sure their hatchlings have a healthy start.
That begins at home. It carries over into the assembly of the called
out – the Church. Young families take notice.
2. Barn swallows usually nest in
small colonies and also hunt together.
Togetherness is of significant worth.
In a world that captivates our every waking moment, setting aside a
few precious hours once or twice a week to stand with one another is
invaluable. I need you and you need me in times like these!
Especially when the enemy is on the prowl. When a cat or other
predator approaches a barn swallow's nesting site, the entire colony
immediately mobs the intruder in an impressive display of bombing
dives! We are the body of Christ and we need to watch the backs of
our brothers. That means praying, helping, loving and staying as long
as necessary by their side in good times and in trouble.
3. The swallows seem to enjoy the
easy life of late summer, when they do not need to work every minute
of the day to feed their young. They are often seen perched above the
creek, doing nothing at all. But, the easy life is short lived, as
the end of summer approaches and they prepare for their long journey
south.
Travel plans are eternally important.
This world will end. Either your life will come to a close or the
Lord will return. Either way, you better know where you're going and
what it is going to take to arrive there safely. Like the swallows,
we have a long journey ahead. Unlike them, we cannot take it easy
until the day of our departure. We need to keep searching for ways to
reinforce the nest so we can launch another hatch in the power of
Christ! We must keep building one another up as we see the Day
approaching (Hebrews 10:23-25).
Next time you see a glistening blue
and tawny Barn Swallow dart gracefully over a field or above a body
of water, look closer at the agile flyer . God has set him apart from
all other North American swallows by gracing him with a forked tail.
Those two feathers are a reminder of two boards fashioned together to
form a cross. Jesus made a way so we could wing our way home one day
just like a Barn Swallow.
copyright 2012 The Word's Out - Brenda Black
