The Voice Beyond the Trees

Mac & Nora



Winkin, Blinkin, & Nod.


I was always so disappointed in myself for hanging this hideous fake plant on my front porch, until this cute little family made their home in it. I finally (after two years of enduring it's ugliness) decided to take down the plant. When I reached up to get it, I noticed a tiny broken egg at the bottom. So, I stood on the railing to peer in and found three teeny-tiny birds all piled on top of each other. They were fuzzy and featherless and so ugly they were cute. We named them Winkin, Blinkin & Nod. I've been addicted to their progress ever since.

Early in the mornings, when I get home from running, I drink my coffee and watch Mac & Nora feed them. (That's what I named the parents since their such good singers). I'm careful to quietly observe through a small glass window in my front door, as Mac is always on high alert for any scary noise that is sure to make them fly away so as to not draw a predator's attention to their sweet little ones. When they fly to the top of the plant, Mac perches up really tall as if to protect the family while Nora puts the food into the three small beaks that are stretched as high up and wide open to her as possible, ready to receive their breakfast. When they're finished, I usually go out and stand on the railing to look and see how big they've gotten. This makes Nora furious, as she aggressively chirps from a nearby tree limb until I retreat back into the house.

They've grown up so fast! They all have full feathers now, and will soon be flying away. I have to admit, I'll be so sad when that plant is empty!

I was impressed this morning that maybe Jesus put these birds in my ugly plant to show me what He wants to be for me. My protector. My provider. The giver of life. Nourishing me and equipping me to have all that I need to fly in this difficult world and survive.

I am the world's worst at accusinge Jesus of being silent and absent in my life, but was careful to notice this morning, that even though I couldn't see Mac & Nora in the big oak tree by the porch, I could hear them. They were there and they were close... letting their little ones know they were not alone. They had not been abandoned. All they had to do was listen, and they could hear the voice of their father speaking to them and comforting them. Warning them and guiding them.

Like those tiny birds, it takes faith for me to really believe that Jesus is always there for me. That even though He's unseen, He's present.


I wonder how much I miss by not listening to that voice beyond the trees.