The Presence of Birds in a Winter Storm

 Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink,[k] or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?  And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to your span of life

Matthew 6:25-27 NRSVue

1. 1. O God, our help in ages past,

   Our hope for years to come,

   Our shelter from the stormy blast,

   And our eternal home.

2. based on Psalm 90 Voices United 806 

3.  We have not been spared from the massive Winter storm which has enveloped much of North America. Every province has issued some form of travel warning because of snow and high winds making roads impassible. Thousands of flights have been cancelled, resulting in disappointment for so many. 

Last night the warming centre at Trenton United, our home congregation, was open and welcomed a dozen or more stranded travellers. They included parents with a child -- sound familiar? 

I've already done lots of shovelling, including our decks, and while I was out there I replenished our bird feeders. As I did the latter the birds were waiting in the nearby birch trees and bushes. I had a distinct sense that they were impatient to get back to fueling up against the stormy blast as quickly as possible.

There were many species at hand, including juncos and finches and cardinals and woodpeckers. I was delighted when a northern flicker showed up, a bird we hear in our neighbourhood but don't often see at the feeders. His or her presence was such a gift on a blustery day filled with crummy news. 

I've chosen to post a photo on a cardinal on a feeder and the needlework image I shared earlier in Advent as my final "outside in artwork for this season. Our feeders are a constantly changing living art display which bring joy at every time of year and even in a blizzard. 

The "do not worry" passage from Jesus'  Sermon on the Mount isn't a conventional Christmas Eve reading, and O God, Our Help in Ages Past ain't a Christmas Carol. Yet they fit, given our circumstances, wouldn't you say? If you don't agree, humour me!

Already some of our family plans have gone sideways and despite huge disappointment we are trying to be grateful that our children and grandchildren are safe and warm in their homes in the midst of the blast. 

May you be able to move beyond anxiety into the calm presence of Christ this day.