One of our quests while birding in Florida was to see the Florida Scrub Jay. It’s not the rarest bird or the most beautiful bird in Florida. It is, however, only found in Florida. It doesn’t migrate by season or to mate. It spends its life living in a world of desolation in the scrub brush of Florida.
Florida scrub has to be seen and experienced to understand. It’s a sand pine scrub that is also unique to the Ocala National Forest in Florida and is actually endangered. Apparently, these scrub forests are all that is left of a chain of islands. The oceans receded more than 25 million years ago, leaving sand islands on which the scrub forests can be found.
The scrub forests grow to heights of about six feet and are dependent upon periodic fires to keep other trees mixed in the brush to stay at that height. If trees overgrow the area, animals and birds within the scrub and the scrub itself will not survive. The plants that thrive there have evolved with thorns to protect them from being eaten and are capable of withstanding long-term droughts.
At least 173 species of birds have learned to thrive in the low scrub forest. They are not exotic birds. In fact, many of them are seen regularly at our feeders, such as mockingbirds, towhees, and catbirds. However, in the scrub forest, they stay on the ground or on the low branches, deep within the impenetrable scrub where they are safe from most predators. Birds tend to fly out of the scrub to catch a flying insect and then disappear immediately back into it. It makes for hard, difficult birding.
While the Florida Scrub Jay lives in the scrub, it can also be seen near the top of trees around the scrub. And unlike the other birds, the Scrub Jay is not skittish around people. The Jay’s actions are completely opposite of what is seen by the other birds.
I couldn’t help looking at the birds jumping in and out of this desolate forest and think about the world today. Jesus said that we are to be in the world but not of the world (John 15:19). It seems to me that even we Christians keep getting pulled down into the world of desolation, disappointment, and discouragement. We can jump out of it for awhile, but tend to get pulled right back in.
Maybe we’re meant to be more like the Florida Scrub Jay. We’re meant to be strong enough to pull away from the desolation–to stay above the fray. Has there ever been a time when believers should be reminding the world that even in the midst of a global pandemic, we have something in our lives that allows us to move above it.
We have the promise of God’s love and mercy, and the hope of our eternal future with Him.
Maybe it’s time for us as believers to be the voice above the discouragement. As Isaiah 9:2 says, “The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them” (NASB).
Margie’s latest devotional book, 8 Days in Jerusalem, is available for Lent through amazon.com and christainbooks.com.
