This white rumped Munia, an occasional visitor to our garden took shelter on the cable above the feeding station, under the cover of the foliage of tree above, when it was raining. It stayed there for a while till it found a better shelter when the down pour became heavier.
Th bird looked uneasy and fretful. As water drops kept falling on its body, it became even more unsettled!
A purple Sunbird was still gathering its nectar from the garden next to the feeding station.
The sights of the these two smaller birds made me realise that they face an existential challenge every day especially during such seasons of inclement weather!
Both of them had a well groomed and oiled body that protected them from getting soaked in the rain! Their flight movements are protected as the feather cover to their body is often water resistant.
The small birds are endowed with additional protection!
This provision of protection is corresponding to our need!
I recall a verse in the book of prophet Isaiah chapter 30; 21, "And your ears will hear a word behind you, 'This is the way, walk in it', whenever you turn to the right or left" !
The message of hope rings all around us amidst the apparently disturbing situations.
When I watch the avian life in our garden, I have this thought further reinforced. We live protected and surrounded!
The driver who took us for a short trip narrated how he received remarkable help after the passing away of his wife following chronic renal disease. He said, ' we are taken care of'. He was referring to two of his sons, who are moving on well in life with the help he received from family and friends.
I come across such stories while listening to the critical times in the lives of people.
In the poem, He giveth more grace, by Annie Johnson Flint(1866-1932) there is a stanza which gives us another window to look at our circumstance:
'When we have exhausted our store of endurance,
when our strength has failed, ere the day is half done,
when we reach the end of our hoarded resources,
Our Father's full giving is only begun'!
Annie wrote this poem, from her wheel chair, suffering from severe arthritis for long years, with no respite or having enough money to pay her medical bills.
Annie lived a soulful life experiencing the nearness of od in her life!
The white rumped Munia felt protected by the water resistant feather coat it has on its body in the heavy rain !
This is the mystery of several silent acts of God in our lives!
Our difficult situations are only a pathway to experience this abundance of goodness of God!
M.C.Mathew(text and photo)
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