“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.” —Matthew 10:29 (NIV)
The sun lit the branches of the bare trees as I took our dog Soda for his morning walk. In the distance, the caps of the Catskill Mountains were white with snow. Our neighbor’s front door and windows were wide open—strange on such a cold day. So I stood in front of their house, trying to make sense of things.
My neighbor came out from the front door, holding a small blanket. “A bird,” he explained. “Got in the chimney and was in our stove. I think it’s injured.”
His wife appeared behind him. “We don’t know what to do,” she said. Her brow strained, and she wrapped her arms around herself. “We put it under the tree. We opened all the doors and windows, hoping it’d fly out. It didn’t. I think it has a broken wing.”
Read more: Seeing God’s Love in Nature
They walked over to the tree, and I stayed away because I thought Soda would only make things worse. I wished them well and continued on down the road.
With every step, I prayed for the bird—that it wasn’t afraid, that it would make it. On the way back, my neighbor sat on the front step, looking over at the tree.
“Still alive,” he said.
“What kind of bird is it?” I asked.
“A sparrow. Just a sparrow.”
I was struck by his words. Just seemed so wrongly placed for all his concern. I thought of the Bible verse about God caring for the sparrows, so certainly He cares for us. I looked up at the sky and thought, The same is true for us. No creature is unworthy of our love, and by caring for God’s creation, we show our love for Him.
Dear Lord, when we open our hearts to “just” sparrows, we reflect Your love on earth.
