Did you know that God has many ways to get a message to you? Although He can speak directly, He often uses other ways to communicate. This past year, God has used creation, nature, and animals to show Kathy and me His presence and love. Today, He used birds. In the Bible, birds are often seen as messengers or representations of God. Noah sent a bird out of the ark. The Spirit descended upon Jesus in the form of a dove. Many people have found comfort in the soft presence of a redbird or the beautiful sound of a songbird, and today, Kathy and I received a message from God sent through a vivacious flock of Cedar Waxwings.
This story starts back in 2011 when Kathy became seriously ill and was eventually diagnosed with Scleroderma, an autoimmune disease. The original prognosis was not good, in fact, she was not supposed to live this long, but God is our Great Physician and we have trusted him, no matter what. Well, about 2 weeks ago, Kathy had a scan on her lungs (Scleroderma can affect your lungs) and today the Dr called with the results. This was nothing new. We’ve been receiving Doctors' opinions for a long time, but it’s always nerve-racking, so we prayed ahead of the phone call and decided that we would respond with faith no matter the results.
We sat at the dining room table in front of the window, patiently waiting for the phone to ring. Finally, the phone rang and Kathy answered. We listened to the Doctor as he gave us his diagnosis, “Your test results look fairly good. Your lung capacity is the same as it was 10 years ago, but there is a little scarring on your lungs that wasn’t there before.” Not a bad report but not a perfect report either. Of course, the devil tries to plant fear and lies into your mind, but Kathy and I had decided how we would react to any news and we took it as a good report. We stand on the promises of God. We understand that no one is promised tomorrow, so we must live life to the fullest, today.
I walked out to the backyard to thank the Lord, when I saw a flock of birds flying to the tree on the side of our house. They would fly in, then fly out. There were dozens of them going excitedly back and forth. I went into the house and told Kathy to look out the window. She was still sitting in the same place that we had received the doctor’s news and the tree was right out the window behind her. There were birds everywhere; birds we had never seen before. They were within 8 feet of her, chirping, fluttering, picking berries, and hurriedly flying in and out of the tree. We were both overwhelmed, and at the same time, we realized this was God sending us a message, “I am here. I have you in My hands, and nothing can separate you from my love.” Well, that sealed it for us. We had decided to respond with faith and God had sent us confirmation. He is our strength and hope. We are held by His love. Our lives belong to Him.
You may think we’re a bit crazy, but it’s not just what we saw in the tree; it’s what we felt in our hearts. God is always with us, but sometimes He wants to make Himself plainly known to you. He will speak softly to your heart, the right song will come on the radio, or a good friend will call at just the right time. I cannot tell you how good God has been to us. He has healed Kathy so many times. We have had expensive medications given to us, bad reports that turned into good reports, and a million other miracles. But it is the presence of God that means the most. We were never promised a life without problems. We were promised that God would be with us through it all. Our God let us know today that He is with us! So, I must praise my God. He is a good God, who loves His children! Our great Savior, Healer, Deliverer, Provider, and soon coming King! Let everything that has breath, PRAISE THE LORD!!!
Kathy just came in the office and told me that Psalms 91 is the message God sent to us, today. WOW!
He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”
For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence.
He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.
A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you.
You will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked.
Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place—the Most High, who is my refuge
no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent.
For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.
On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.
You will tread on the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.
Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name.
When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.
With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.”
-Psalms 91
- Mylon Avery
2 comments:
I posted a comment on Instagram then came and read the rest of your story. Oh, Mylon, you should write a book if you haven’t! God is working mightily in you. On another note, cedar waxwings are so incredible, how they take care of each other. They stay together. I don’t know if I told you this before but I remember one time, I was sitting in the doctors office waiting room. There was a tree outside. Al of a sudden a group of maybe 20 cedar waxwings landed on one of the branches. All lined up, so cute. Then, the first one picked a berry. I thought he’d eat it but instead he passed it to the next bird, who passed it to the next bird and so on and so on until it reached the last bird on the branch. I thought HE would eat it, but instead, he passed it to the one who gave it to him and he passed it up to the next bird and so on and so on until it reached the first bird. He ate it and picked another berry. He passed it to the next bird who passed it to the next. The last bird passed the berry back and it was passed up the line to the second bird, who ate that berry!!! This process went on and on until all the birds had eaten a berry!!!! I was so amazed at this. It was incredible. One of those once in a lifetime experiences! I truly believe God speaks to us through those beautiful creatures. We are as a sparrow. He cares for them. He cares for us. Love this story! Thank you for sharing.
Thank You :-)
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