My wife, Sara, loves birds, so in the spring I get daily reports that go something like this: 鈥淭he chickadees are back.鈥� 鈥淚 saw a Robin today.鈥� 鈥淥oh, I hear a woodpecker over there.鈥澛�
She gets excited when she sees hawks floating on the breeze.聽Our backyard is filled with bird feeders and we get more than our share of feathered visitors.
Over the course of our marriage, I have come to enjoy watching the birds as well.聽I even know the names of some of them now.聽I am especially good at spotting Red-winged Blackbirds. (Why can鈥檛 all birds be this obviously named?)聽 聽
Of course, there is nothing new going on here.聽The birds have been around for my entire life.聽I just never paid any attention to them.聽What is new is that Sara has taught me to notice these little creatures and now I cannot stop seeing and hearing them.聽They are everywhere.
You will see what you choose to see.
The Old Testament prophet Isaiah worked during a difficult time in the history of God鈥檚 people.聽They experienced a lot of ups and downs and it seemed like more often than not they were their own worst enemies.聽
Everything seemed difficult for them.聽Therefore, God sent Isaiah with this message: 鈥淭he desert and the parched landed will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.聽Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy 鈥� (then everyone) will see the glory of the Lord, the splendour of our God鈥� (Isaiah 35:1-2).聽聽
God鈥檚 people had a choice. They could focus on the desert or the blossoms.聽They could act like they lived in parched land or they could realize that in places, 鈥淲ater will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.聽The burning sand will become a pool and the thirsty ground bubbling springs鈥� (verses 6 and 7).聽
As spiritual people, I believe it is our job to look for the good that God is doing and then join him in promoting and encouraging those activities.聽
It takes a different mindset to look at the desert and see the flower instead of the sand.聽However, once you start looking for good things, you will find that you see them everywhere.
