Lessons from Nature, Part 1

My sons had Good Friday off work, so the three of us went to a local park we used to enjoy together quite often. The park had been closed for renovations for over a year, and recently reopened. I had been there several times, but the guys hadn't yet.

Hiking is nice there, but our favorite activity is hand-feeding the birds. We have had chickadees, tufted titmice, white-breasted and red-breasted nuthatches, and even a woodpecker (twice) come to get seeds from our hands. We stand patiently along the trail, listening for bird calls, whistling some back to them, and usually it isn't long before we hear and see them coming. They generally land somewhere near us, then pause before coming to stand on our hand/fingertips to grab a seed. It made me wonder how they determine whether to trust you enough to come to your hand. Is it part of their God-given instinct--are they able to determine that you mean no harm? What part does hunger play? Is that sometimes enough to help them overcome their fear of us? Sometimes they fight over which of them gets to come first, and may even chase off a bird already sitting on a hand.

It made me think of how our loving Heavenly Father waits patiently, His hands overflowing with the blessings He wants to bestow on us. Will I trust Him enough to take whatever He gives as a blessing, whether I perceive it as one or not? Do I have a hunger for His presence, or do I keep Him at arm's length, fearing to trust Him (or for some other reason)? Do I jockey for position in an attempt to get Him to notice me and gain His favor?