I took these photos of "our" momma robin a couple of years ago after she had so painstakingly built a nest in the sill of our bathroom window.  I was thrilled to see it happening and could hardly wait to photograph it all, since it was so "up close" and accessible to watch!  She sat on that nest diligently with a cautious, watchful eye each moment - for what seemed like forever! 

I first snapped the pics through the window screen because I thought I might scare her, but soon, when she was "out" for a few moments, I quickly removed it and began "journaling" with my camera each day.  This is a short version of the sweet miracles that occurred.

How nature tells stories that we can all relate to!!  The progress from the nest building - to laying the eggs - to the hatching - to hungry little mouths reaching helplessly upward every hour was but a taste of the chaos and joy we too experience as we raise families and become absorbed in the daily routine of life and provision.

Sometimes it was quiet and peaceful and sometimes it was busy and very loud as momma robin did her best to get a worm from the ground below to each demanding baby beak!  I am sure those little birds had no idea just how hard their care taker was working and to what extent she was guarding her little darlings!

These babies couldn't even see for quite a number of days!  They were helpless and frail, barely able to raise their heads unless they sensed their meal-bearer was near!  Then they would throw their heads back and beaks up with every ounce of energy they could "muster" and bellow shrill peeps as if to insist that their mouth would be the first to get the meaty earthworm!

Huddled amongst pieces of sky blue egg shell, still visible after hatching, these pink and mostly naked newborns could only depend on their source!  So when I would make even the slightest noise or movement, they began tossing about and slightly lifting their bright yellow beaks - just in case it were to be the one who filled their tummies!

I was fascinated at the time the momma spent making sure everything was done for those babies.  She must have been exhausted!  I remember feeling that way while raising my family!  Sometimes it were as if I would never have an adult moment again!  She sat with these little ones like her life depended on it.  

I also remember feeling the protective instincts with my own children - particularly if their were any chance of danger.  My feathers could definitely ruffle if their were a bully or threat to their well-being.  Momma robin would also puff herself to almost twice her size if I were to move too close for her comfort!

I find it so fascinating that we have such built-in instincts and needs!  There is most definitely a design to life - both in humanity and in nature in general.  We were created to need food and warmth and other lives.  We were made in such a way that we even "know" to care for others - especially our own who we bring into the world, or are responsible for.  There are no accidents about how God so amazingly created life!

Watching this little "family" of birds made me smile and it kept my mind on the simplicity of it all.  Yet I know that only a Master Designer could come up with something that in reality is deeply complex and complicated!  My own ability or understanding is not capable of designing anything so incredible!  I can only stand in awe, not only at birds - but at the very thought of how He might have breathed life into a human being!  

Consider the universe!  Vast galaxies, enormous mountains, and deep oceans that could only exist because there is an incredibly BIG God!  How can we not stand back and admit we are but a grain of sand on endless stretches of shorelines where the waves rise and fall with the pull of the heavens!  

It is an indescribable God who creates indescribable things!  Things that breathe and move and have being!!  

One day our life here on earth will end.  He has ordered a number of days for each of us.  Should He tarry, they will one day come to completion. 

The good news is that He has promised more for each who choose to trust that the Potter's hand loves the clay that He molds!  He desires the companionship and love of His own.  Just as a mother loves her children, He, all the more loves those who He has so beautifully made and redeemed.

​He has actually offered the most precious sacrifice of His only Son so that we might continue to belong to Him throughout eternity.  There is an enemy - a bully - a threat to our well-being.  Our God works diligently on our behalf to protect, save and keep His treasured children close to His side. 

If we but choose to accept His loving Father-hood and plan of redemption, and obey the instructions He provides us, our future, even beyond this life, will be secure.  He worked out a plan that defied even our worst enemy!  

Jesus was the price that was paid for our safety and redemption.  He endured all (and more) than we could ever endure, and was victorious through life and death so that through His wonderful offering, we could be free to also have a victorious and eternal life.

Realize you need Him.  Recognize the price He paid as our God and Father.  Accept what He has offered.  Know that we are sinners and need forgiveness -  and a life-preserver (Jesus) to have the assurance of eternity!  Let the incredible Maker of the universe embrace you and give you the blessed assurance of life forever with Him.