Sunday 23 July 2017

Lessons from a seagull

Lessons from a seagull !
During my recent holiday in Looe  whilst visiting Cornwall,  I  came across this lady feeding some seagull chicks in one of the older parts of the town.  . I stopped,  fascinated , as I hadn’t seen baby seagulls close up before,  except for the  few I’d seen earlier that day , nesting  on the rooftops of the houses nearby. We had a chat about why she was doing this and she was delighted to  spend  a few minutes with me. She told  me  that these   chicks, together with many others , frequently slid off the  steep rooftops. Some landed safely and appeared  unhurt , whilst others   die or, like  one of these,  suffer a broken leg or other injuries.  She also happily explained that these three  were still regularly visited  and cared for by the mother , whereas two others close by were orphans and had been abandoned by both parents         ( apparently the male seagull has no further interest in the chicks once they fall from the nest --- how sad!) It was lovely to see the orphans actually trying to feed each other ! She also said that they were in constant danger from cats in the district , though home owners were aware of this and did all they could to prevent  them from attacking.  I was then reliably informed that   when  they were able to fly,  these young birds would be led  by the mother  to the crèche !! Yes the crèche! The crèche was part of the river bank a short distance upstream where all the youngsters were cared for  as a group .
  
          This reminded  me of the love, patience and care God has for us.                                                                       It reminded  me that :-
  •                       God created every living creature!

19 Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the wild animals and all the birds in the sky. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name.
What fun Adam must have had naming these creatures he had never seen before !. There must have been thousands, yet each was given a unique name !  Maybe he saw white and black birds squawking nearby and noticed that they returned to the sea and named them seagulls, who knows ? Did he have to avoid their droppings one wonders ? Did he think them a nuisance? Seagulls get bad press, don’t they, yet that’s largely due to the amount of seagull-enticing food we eat so near their territories !

  •                     We are more precious than the birds!


26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
 Since  I’ve recently moved from town to countryside it’s been a thrill to see such  a variety of birds attracted to the bird feeders in the trees; robins, blue tits, great tits, sparrows, blackbirds, thrushes and more, birds that I’d never seen  at all during the 40 or so years Iived in more  urban areas ! They are so wonderful, daily parading their gorgeously feathered attire, a joy to watch, pecking at the nuts, ravenously gobbling up seeds and fat balls. Jesus says they’re valuable ! But we are more valuable than these and if we trust Him He will provide all that we need .
 7 Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows

  •       God cares as much as a nursing mother.

Isaiah 49:15      God: “Can a woman forget her nursing child, or show no compassion for the child of her womb? Even these she may forget, yet I will not forget you.
 The image of the mother seagull visiting her fallen young chicks,  then,  when they are recovered and strong enough  to lead them off to safety,  will stay with me for a very long time. It is the same parenting love that God has for his children, especially those who are newborn! He will not leave them as orphans but rather hide them under the shadow of His wings ! Psalm 91v4 ‘ NIV
‘He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.’
 7 But we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherishes her children:

The apostle Paul was most concerned that as leaders ( or any who are helping young believers) we must be gentle in the way we handle the spiritual growth of others. They need special attebtion, led, if you like, to the ‘crèche’ of the Lord until they are strong enough to stand , flee the nest and go out into the world as witnesses and ambassadors for Christ, strong in the Lord and the strength of His might !