1 God sees the little [chickadee] fall,
it meets his tender view;
if God so loves the little birds,
I know he loves me too.
Refrain:
He loves me too, he loves me too,
I know he loves me too;
because he loves the little things,
I know he loves me too.
2 He paints the lily of the field,
perfumes each lily bell;
if he so loves the little flow'rs,
I know he loves me well. [Refrain]
3 God made the little birds and flow'rs,
and all things large and small;
he'll not forget his little ones,
I know he loves them all. [Refrain]
Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?
Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.
And even the hairs of your head are all counted.
So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.
Matthew 10:29-31 NRSVue
This morning I ventured out to replenish one of our bird feeders and as I did so a chickadee landed in a bush close at hand. It peeped as though to say "could you speed it up, it's cold out here!" Chickadees are such a common bird in our neck of the woods that it's easy to overlook them despite their simple beauty and remarkable resilience. When we lived in Northern Ontario they would show up at our feeders in -30C weather, featheres puffed up to twice normal size to provide a down coat. Researchers figure chickadee brains get bigger in the Winter to help them cope with the challenges of the season. Um, do they get them to do an IQ test?
This brief encounter reminded me that in one of our bedrooms there are three small woodcuts of common Ontario birds, a blue jay, a red-winged blackbird, and a chickadee. The artist, Garth Miller, is the husband of one of Ruth's former co-workers in another time and place. Garth went to art school and hoped for a vocation in the arts. While he's spent his working life elsewhere, he is a talented artist. We were so taken by a gift of the chickadee we sought the other two.
I've made a chickadee substitution in the "oldie goldie" hymn above, one that didn't make the Voices United cut, presumably because of the male pronouns.It's based on the verses in both Matthew and Luke in which Jesus assures his listeners that they are loved, as even the tiniest birds are valued by the Creator.
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