Count the Birds

I’m not an art collector with the exception of one painting.

This painting was a gift to my father when he was the pastor of Calvary Evangelistic Center in Worcester, Massachusetts. The painter is JeanPaul Raymond, and the piece of art was made in 1975. The significance of this painting to me is due to the three birds standing in the water on the bottom of the painting.

Three has been a favorite number of mine for a long time–mostly due to the meaning of the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Recently, this painting that hangs in my office above my computer monitor has an additional meaning. There are more than three birds in the painting, but the others are flying in the air. Now, I enjoy counting the birds especially on days when I want to worry.

“Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest? Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will He clothe you–you of little faith!” Luke 12:25-28

Any day we wake up we can find a reason to worry. No matter where we live, no matter our profession, no matter our economic status or even the country where we call home...worry finds us. We worry about our past. We worry about our future and in the process we miss out on finding peace for today. “Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord their God. He is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them—He remains faithful forever.” Psalm 146:5-6

If we find ourselves in a state of worry, we need to take a moment and refocus our concerns. “Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken.” (Psalm 55:22)  A prayer I have recently embraced is a three word prayer: “Peace is here.” Jesus made His purpose clear in John 14:27: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

Recently, our mission began planning to ship sponsored shoebox gifts to Haiti through a different channel of delivery. The process was new. The port of delivery was further south from our mission to divert the gifts from the gangs in the capital city of Port-au-Prince. When the 13 pallets of supplies left our office in Orlando, at first I worried. Then I heard the sound of a bird chirping; a reminder. “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7) To help shed the temptation to worry, I count the birds. Don’t rush. Pause, look, and see the birds, and then remember the truth found in Luke 12. When we worry we lose peace. ~Tim DeTellis