Spring rebuilds, restores, and rejuvenates. I find myself spending more and more time outdoors listening to the birds, watching the sunset, and weeding my garden. A little Mama Finch has returned to build her nest in the corner of my garage. The friendly bird seems to enjoy my company as I watch her strategically restructuring her nest from last year. As a mother of six, I understand her need to make everything “just right.”
Recently, I watched a documentary on the Cuckoo Bird, one of those late night jewels certified to put even the toughest insomniac into a deep lull. Cuckoo birds are notorious for perusing the forest, finding another bird’s nest, depositing her egg, and flying away to live a carefree, no responsibility lifestyle. Sadly, various mother birds, oblivious to the large, differently colored egg in their nests, nurture the cuckoo bird’s egg until it hatches and then work diligently to feed it and their young. The worms are never enough for all the baby birds and eventually the mother bird’s own babies starve to death or are pushed from the nest by the oversized bird. The Cuckoo baby bird thrives, consumes the nest, and destroys all that is around it.
How could a mother bird not know the baby cuckoo bird isn’t hers? And how can she, day after day, feed the cuckoo bird until it ruins her home and kills her children?
It’s easy to recline on my couch and shout out to the mother dove, “Throw the cuckoo bird out of your nest!” But the reality is many of us have them in our homes, in our lives, and in our hearts. We justify our sins by ignoring their existence or qualifying them by admitting to “love” God but ignoring His “laws.” In the process of “not knowing,” we blindly wreck our homes.
When I was a little girl, my brother Lindsey and I made a club house out of an old chicken coop. We painted, cut down briars, raked up old manure, and spent hours establishing laws to govern this two member club establishment. Several days after the reconstruction began, I noticed two large red whelps on my arms, followed by blistering red, oozing sores on my neck, stomach, and even in my ears. Since Lindsey and I were not supposed to be around the chicken coop because of rattlesnakes, I hid my deformities from my Mom and even my brother. He didn’t appear to be itching so I assumed I was the only one. Before I knew it, I had spread the disease to my sister and my grandmother, and my brother was covered head to toe in impetigo.
Sometimes we first must recognize there is a Cuckoo Bird in our nest. Failure to see the signs of sin; to acknowledge its existence; or to continue feeding it daily, will result in our ultimate demise. Sometimes we recognize the existence of the sin, but are too afraid to admit it or get help. We walk around blindly exposing others to our bad choices.
I have a friend who spends a great deal of time exercising. She believes in staying physically fit, eating healthy, and taking vitamins and herbs; however, she continues to lead a lifestyle of sin that will ultimately destroy her family. Is she blinded to the consequences of her choices or nonchalantly interacting with sin as if it will all work out?
What are the Cuckoo Birds in your nest? How long are you willing to feed them daily until all that you know and love is gone?
