One hot bird

It was scorching hot yesterday so I set up Madison's pool in concoction with the sprinkler.  Her and Kirby had a blast splashing around and cooling down.  Perhaps a little too much because the pool quickly became much more fun as a mud pit.  Madison was soon caked in mud from head to toe.  After she enjoyed herself a little bit more than I would have liked I disconnected the sprinkler and went to work rinsing her off.  As I did I noticed off in the distance a bird sitting on the edge of the fence watching us.  This really comes as no surprise as the neighborhood is an animal haven.  Squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, and dozens of types of birds routinely hang out in my backyard.  But this bird was different.  Instead of flying off once it realized it was noticed it hopped down to the ground.  Then it took a few brave steps closer.  I was holding the hose... looking at the bird... and back to the hose again.  It was in the 90's and we're in a neighborhood without ponds or streams.  This bird wanted some water.  It wanted water bad enough that it was willing to overlook it's fear of being safe to get it.  So I switched the hose settings to squirt water further where I wouldn't scare the little guy.  It came about a foot from hitting him.  I expected him to startle and fly off but no, that bird was persistent.  He hopped a few steps closer and proceeded for the next minute or two to practically dance around in the rainy mist surrounding him.  He fluffed his feathers, stretched his head up to the sky, pranced around a bit and thoroughly enjoyed his birdie bath in the cool water.  It drew the attention of several other birds who flitted over to the gate.  My little bird friend flew off to a nearby branch shaking himself off with an air of "you guys saw nothing, I wasn't trusting those humans."

You all know me by now... grabbing life analogies from nature.  This one struck me hard.  How many of us feel the heat of our lives weighing us down, feel the hot sun pressing around us, draining our energy and dehydrating our souls?  We'd do anything for a refreshing rain on our lives to wipe it all away.  Without trying to sound too cliche here we have our own gardener with the water of life ready to pour out on us.  And like many birds we stand back timidly, shy away and take flight.  Why?  Because of fear.  We've been hurt before perhaps.  Or maybe we're too proud.  Perhaps it's because our self-consciousness wins over and we don't want to be seen as "that" bird foolishly dancing in the water God is offering us.  There are a million reasons why and we each have our stories, our fears, our inhibitions.  We don't always trust the gardener.  Sometimes it is really hard to trust and reach out in faith when we feel we've been burned and scorched to our very core.  But here is the truth:

¹³ Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, ¹⁴ but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:14

Be that little bird in my backyard.  Let your thirst and exhaustion bring you to the reviving waters that will quench your soul again.  Feel free to dance a little too - we all have much to rejoice in! :)