Lessons from the Red-Winged Blackbird

God and I have a special thing with red-winged blackbirds.  I love their bold markings and coloring, and I feel the slightest bit like a real bird watcher when I can point them out to my sons and other captive audience-type people.  I even downloaded an app so I could learn to recognize their calls, as well as the calls of other local birds.

God seems especially fond of speaking to me through them at Oil Belt Christian Camp’s Ladies’ Day weekends, where I am on the planning team.   One year, as I was driving to the camp to help with the prep, I was freaking out.  I was teaching a workshop and performing a skit and helping with decorations.  I’d spread myself a little thin.  As I turned down one of the country roads to reach the camp, there was a field of corn stubble on my left.  Perched on top of one of the corn stalks was a red-winged blackbird.  I drove very slowly down the road, and I watched as he flew a little way, landed on another stalk, waited for me to catch up, flew a bit more, landed on a stalk, waited for me again, all the way to the end of the field.  I felt like God was telling me He was there with me, that I should give my anxiety to Him and it would all work out fine (which it did).

A couple of years later I was heading up to camp, only this time I was feeling good about the skit and purposed to worship during the entire drive.  I saw one blackbird, then another, then two more.  I laughed and told God that now He was just showing off.  I spotted two more for a total of six red-winged blackbirds.  I was feeling loved on by God, and Ladies’ Day went very well that year. 

On the way home from that weekend I noticed a break in the clouds in the shape of a heart.  I remembered something John Eldredge had said about God loving on him by giving him hearts of all kinds—rocks, clouds, even animal poop.  I wanted to see the heart shape for as long as I could, so I would glance up and then quickly back to the mostly-deserted highway.  As the clouds were changing and the break disappearing, I looked back at the road in time to see a red-winged blackbird swoop down in front of my car!  OH NO!  I was just sure I hit him.  I felt TERRIBLE!  I had destroyed my special gift from God!  However, when I got home my car didn’t show any evidence that I had actually hit him.  I do hope God spared the bird from my distractedness.  

This year at Ladies’ Day my friend and fellow planner Mary rode to camp with me, and so instead of watching for blackbirds on the drive up, I gabbed with her.  I didn’t see any birds the whole work day or that evening.  The next day, I was the last gal on the planning team to leave the dorm.  As I approached the outside door I silently lamented that I hadn’t seen any red-winged blackbirds this time.  I had taken about three steps out of the door when it happened.  I didn’t see a red-winged blackbird, but I heard its call.  I smiled, praised God, and knew that the day was going to be wonderful.  God was at Ladies’ Day, working behind the scenes.

God has used these beautiful birds, and the simplicity of our encounters, to teach me some valuable truths.  The first year, He used the blackbird to show that He is always with me as well as ahead of me.  He is leading me, inviting me, and if I fall too far behind He will wait on me so we can continue together.

The next year He showed me that He is an extravagant God who loves to lavish gifts on His beloveds.  He also reminded me that, as Jesus healed each person in a different way, He speaks to each of His beloveds in a different way, intimately, to the farthest reaches of our hearts.  The way He speaks to John Eldredge is not the way He speaks to me, and it won’t be the way He speaks to you. 

This year He showed me that even though I may not see Him, I can and do hear Him.  This is opening all new doors for me, and is a process I am enjoying pursuing.  

I love that as our relationship continues to grow, I continue to experience Him in new ways. I can hardly wait until next year's Ladies' Day to discover all He has for me through the red-winged blackbird.