Lesson from a bird

As my last post stated, I recently went and got myself a parakeet from Pets Mart. If I was home enough, lived in an adequate living space, and had the money, I would by all means have myself a little farm. I love animals! So I went a got myself a little yellow bird (my favorite color) to help and indulge myself, yet in a semi-seemingly conservative way. The lady at Pets Mart told me that these birds were fairly young and not tame yet so I would have to tame him/her. So I have been working on trying to earn Woodstock's (his/her name) for almost 2 weeks now. Woodstock is easing up to me but he still hasn't fully decided to trust me yet. I have to wrestle him out of his cage every day just to try and have him sit on my finger. At first it was not a pretty sight as I spent most of the time just chasing him more than anything. But the past few days (as the pictures from the previous post show) he is finally sitting on my finger and shoulder and will stay put, so long as I don't move. Once he's out of the cage, he calms down a bit, but it is still a struggle to get him out. Well a few nights ago I was wrestling him to try and get him out of his cage so he could chill with me for a bit and we were having a particularly difficult struggle. I found myself saying to him, "Listen, Woodstock, why don't you just trust me? Would you really rather just sit in this cage all day? If you would only trust me, I would let you out to enjoy so much more and I would protect you. I just want to love you. Why are you being so difficult?" And then it was if God was sitting right there in the room with me and I heard Him say, so clearly in my Spirit..."Hmmm....that's funny, baby girl. I say the same thing to you. Why don't you just let me take you out of that little cage you have built around your heart and trust me that I only want to love you, protect you, and let you see just a little bit more life than you even imagined existed." I was speechless. I sat there for a moment and at first was motionless, and then I laughed. So true. For the most part, most of us find it fairly easy to accept Christ as our Savior. But to trust Him completely as our Lord, well thats another story. "Don't move us, God. I'm fine just right here." To which He sweetly replies, "But there is so much more ground for you to see and cover, my child." I struggle alongside High school kids daily in my ministry who fight this battle. And yet I am not all that different myself. Sure, I have taken many strides in my walk with Christ. And I will trust Him enough to sit on His finger for a bit every day. But will I let Him open my cage, take me outside, and trust that I can fly all around and yet know I am under His watchful eye? You see, it seems so simple for me when I'm trying to explain this to my bird (no, I don't talk to myself....He talks back in his own way! :)) But when I take a look at my own life, I realize that I still find myself sitting in my cage rather than on my Lord's shoulder from time to time. And all it's doing is confining me. This Lenten season may we be reminded of why He came. He came for you and for me and all b/c He is simply madly in love with us! Know whose you are...you are His...and He is good! Gotta go to a meeting.....