One of my favorite songs from one of my favorite movies is “Feed the Birds” in Mary Poppins. It’s a beautiful, but sad, song, and I always wondered why the birds needed so much help.
I’ve seen several articles recently about the importance for putting out bird feeders for the winter. One article provides five reasons that winter feeders are so important:
- Natural sources for seed aren’t available in the winter.
- The extra food will help local birds get ready for mating in the spring.
- Birds need extra calories in the winter.
- Birds’ natural predators are extra hungry, too.
- Water sources, such as fountains and streams, are frozen.
We’ve put out a new feeder to get ready for the winter, and frankly, the birds have not yet been particularly interested. Maybe later . . .
Thinking about how the birds need feeding help in the winter made me think about what I need in winter. Winter in the mountains of Georgia can get cold, and gray, and dreary at times. The days get short, time in the sun is short at best, and my energy seems to deplete. As much as I love a beautiful winter day with a bright blue sky and a fire in the fireplace to ward off the cold, the cold, gray days are not nearly as uplifting.
The same could be said about cold, gray days spiritually. We all have them––days that leave us feeling discontented or unsettled. Those are the days that we need the extra feeding as well––the extra spiritual calories that come from the Word of God. This winter I’m going to be more intentional fighting the cold, gray days with God’s Word. Join me?
