The Pocket Parrot,
Part 2
The War of the Birds
The following devotional is the second in a short series inspired by Melo, our beloved Parrotlet.
"Blessings crown the head
of the righteous . . ." (Prov 10:6)
Our family recently
swelled in size by one member: A tiny Parrotlet
(miniature parrot) that we named Meloconcito -- or "Melo"
for short. The arrival of this little feathered
critter served to double the bird population in our home,
and he immediately set out to let the resident Cockatiel
(4 times his size) know who was boss!
Now that the first
few days are passed, things seem to have settled down a
bit between the birds, and they will actually share the
same set of shoulders -- as long as they stay
perched on opposite sides! But if there is food in
the picture, look out. In the mornings, I sit down
with both kids (and both birds!) to eat crackers and read
a Bible story. It's a special time that all five
(me, 2 kids, 2 birds) look forward to. When we sit
down, the first thing the boys do is give each of the
birds a cracker. The cockatiel immediately charges
into her cracker with a vengeance. Melo, however,
may or may not peck at his before he charges over to steal
the cockatiel's treat. And if we don't watch him, he
succeeds. If he doesn't succeed, then his next goal
is to steal the crackers out of the hands of my children,
and occasionally, out of my hands as well!
As I watched this
little cracker thief the other day, it occurred to me how
much like most Christians he is. Everyday, God
dishes out blessings for each of His children. For
each of His children, He prepares just the perfect
blessing, the one that, in the long run, will make each of
us the happiest. And what do we tend to do? We
usually don't even see our own blessing. And
if we do, we often will just "peck" at it briefly before
we're off to examine the blessings God has given to
others. Sometimes we get so jealous that we actually
try to "steal" the blessings of others, while our own go
completely unappreciated. Sometimes we even go so
far as to accuse God of blessing others but overlooking
us!
Don't try to "steal"
the "cockatiel's crackers" my friends! When you are
in need of a blessing from the Lord, ask! ("You
do not have, because you do not ask God." James 4:2-3)
Then stand back and watch Him pour out His blessings.
Remember, your blessing may not look the same on the
outside as what you asked for, but it is a blessing, just
the same! Instead of looking at the blessings
received by others, give thanks for the one you received
instead!
Please see the
Thursday's edition of The Illustrator for The Pocket
Parrot, Part 3.
Love in Christ,
Lyn
Lyn Chaffart,
Moderator, The Nugget, Scriptural Nuggets (
www.sermonillustrator.org/minisermons/ ), Answers2Prayer Ministries,
www.Answers2Prayer.org ,