A Closer Look

A couple weeks ago, we were in the backyard and I noticed a bird had built a nest on the second floor windowsill of our bedroom window. The nest was an ugly, trailing mess of branches and leaves. We have been fighting hornet nests all over the place, and I was appalled by the sight of that ugly nest on our house. I did not want to start fighting with birds as well. I am not a bird fan. Our house is near a small body of water, so there are bugs everywhere. Consequently, there are birds everywhere as well. Did I mention I am not a bird fan?

I immediately went upstairs, intending to knock the nest off the window. I opened the window and pushed at the nest with my hand. It seemed fairly secure. I was getting ready to give it a harder shove, when I actually looked into the nest. This ugly, trailing mess of branches and leaves was smooth and round on the inside. It was beautiful. It was perfect. I marveled at how something so ugly on the outside could be so beautiful on the inside. I stopped my demolition, planning to show Shawn and Jamie the nest.

The next day, I looked out the window and there was a robin in the nest. My movement startled her, and she flew off. That’s when I saw the little blue egg in the nest. I am ashamed that I was going to destroy the nest because I thought it was ugly. How often do we do that? We make rash judgments based on appearances, without taking the time to take a closer look. I am as guilty as the next person. Sometimes we just need to stop and look at things in a different way. One of my biggest fears about Clare’s future is that people will do this to her – make a judgment about her based on how she walks or talks or acts and not take the time to take a closer look at the beautiful person she is.

Life is messy. Life can be ugly. But life is also beautiful… and perfect. And our robin’s nest? We now have three eggs in the nest. Mommy robin sits on them every day. We keep the blinds closed over that window and are careful not to make sudden movements, so we don’t scare her off. We are anxious to see if the baby birds hatch and are grateful that God has given us a glimpse into this amazing little world.