The Hurry Hurry Bird (Day 4, 31 Days of Intention)

Photo credit: Dan Pancamo 2010

 
    He is called a Sanderling. These funny little birds are all over the beaches in North Carolina where we vacationed. I love watching them. They scurry urgently down the beach between waves and hunt for tiny mollusks and crabs in the sand. When the next waves rolls in they rush back up the beach away from the water. It was fun to watch them. They made me want to laugh! As we watched I made up a little dialog in my  head.
 

   The little bird goes running down the beach thinking:

  "oh oh oh hungry hungry hungry"

 The wave starts to break.

 "Oh Run run run! Whew! I made it."

The wave recedes,

  "oh! hungry hungry hungry!"

Crash.

"Run away, run away!"

He reminded me of me. When I am fretting.

   I give things to the Lord then I hurry, hurry out of the way of the next wave taking my "things" with me. "oh wait," I think, "I meant to leave this with Him." Hurry, hurry back to Him. Back and forth over and over. Why is it so hard to trust? Why do I insist on doing it myself? Nature, I suppose, a lack of practice trusting. God's word promises so much. Worry and doubt steal our peace.

    But there is more than that at stake here. The Bible says in James 1 that she who doubts is "double minded" and "unstable." I must ask in faith doubting nothing, because those who doubt can expect nothing from the Lord. Our small group just began a study of James. Over the course of the discussion this subject of doubting came up, it is in verse 6 and 7 by the way. I was a little shaken by this idea. I have known that we need to trust God fully. But unstable, because of doubt?? Really? One of the guys in our group said "God wants to be our plan A, period. There shouldn't be a plan b." Talk about needing to trust Him in everything.

   I, as a western Christian, have much. I have freedom, privilege to learn, comfortable home, etc. These things actually do stand in the way of trust sometimes. I am so used to be able to do it on my own that leaving my cares at the feet of Jesus is challenging. Each time though, Jesus calmly takes them from me and reminds me that they shouldn't be my burdens but His. 

  As I focus on being intentional this month, I desire the closeness with God that comes from the intentional choice to trust Him fully. I am getting pictures of the hurry, hurry bird to put up around the house to help remind me that God is in control of my circumstances.

   Lord, today I give you my worry, my fretting, my concern for the future, and myself. You are the director of my play. Lead me. Strengthen me to have no plan b, but to look to You every minute of every day.  Caite