We’ve been having a heat wave in New South Wales. Temperatures up to 45 degrees Celsius in some parts of Sydney. Up to 47 degrees Celsius in the west of the state, and 42 degrees Celsius here on the lake.

We really know it’s hot here on the lake when the Rosella’s come to bathe in our bird bath. Beautiful colourful little birds, they are also very shy and very wary.

When they come around there is often not even enough time to pick up the camera and focus before they are gone.

Usually they will just stop briefly to drink.

For them to stay and repeatedly and actually swim we know they must be hot!

As humans, the constant heat and humidity experienced in heat waves make us feel parched, dry and exhausted. But sometimes the same thing happens with our prayer life and our relationship with God. When this happens we find ourselves pleading:

“Now, Lord, do it again!

Restore us to our former glory! 

May streams of your refreshing flow over us

until our dry hearts are drenched again.”

Psalm 126:4 (The Passion Translation)

And Our Good, Good Father does not disappoint. Like the Word tells us:

“Springs of water will burst out in the wilderness,

streams flow in the desert.

Hot sands will become a cool oasis,

thirsty ground a splashing fountain.” Isaiah 35:5-7

Sadly as is usual at the end of the constant hot weather on the East Coast of Australia we often receive a drenching from the heavens as well. This one that arrived was more like a mini cyclone bringing down trees and washing away the ‘kingmaker’. The supreme perch. It was levelled, nothing left to salvage

However typical of our bird life the creative Egret managed to make the best out of a piece of debris left by the storm, which afforded him a perch even it was even just six or so inches above the water. The cormorant that had shared his previous perch (above), didn’t see the value of this small gift and hasn’t returned.

This reminds me of God’s gifts and,we so often miss the small ones, just as the cormorant did.

“Every gift, God freely gives is good and perfect,

streaming down from the heavens

with no hidden shadow or darkness.”

James 1:17 (The Passion Translation)

So as an old Sunday School song says,

“Count your blessings, count them one by one

Count your blessings see what God has done!”

Johnson Oatman, Jr., pub.1897

Marilyn

Sometimes I look out at the birds on the lake before me and marvel at the simplicity of their lives. Looking at it in regards to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, they never appear to transcend beyond the 3rd level. Their needs revolve around the necessities for life, food, water, shelter, safety, family and a sense of connection etc. The last two levels of Self Esteem and Self Actualization probably don’t apply. Or do they?

Over the past months we have observed an unusual happening on the lake.

My husband named it ‘the kingmaker’.

What is the kingmaker? Well, it’s just a bough that had broken off a tree and settled itself in the shallows on the edge of the lake. Just a piece of debris.

A Cormorant found it first. It was the ideal perch on which to sit in the sun, reflect on life and dry his wings. These birds fish by totally submerging under the water, so their feathers get very wet which compromises their flight. They need to dry out.

The other birds noticed the Cormorant on his perch, and came to check him out.

He appeared to sit there with great pride, cutting a dashing figure as he looked down on those around him.

“Why did only the cormorant have the privilege of standing taller than all the other birds? Why did he get to see so much further than anyone else?”

The ducks were curious.

Then came along, a young Great Egret. He was a tall bird and stood head and shoulders over the others, but he discovered you could see much further standing up on the perch. Better still, he was much higher than all those around him.

Then there came the Oyster Catchers to try out the perch.

But the Oyster Catchers didn’t have the right kind of feet to hold on, so they couldn’t ascend to the top perch, they could only stand on the bottom. Disappointed they left.

A duck had a try, but he too lacked the right kind of feet to be able to grip the perch, so he had to settle for standing on the bottom. There was no enjoyment in that.

So, it became a tussle between the Cormorant and the Egret. Who would be king and occupy the highest perch on the lake?

There came an altercation as the Cormorant posed on the top perch and the Egret stood on the lower branch. The Egret found even on the lower branch he was the king. No one was taller than him.

But he found he had no one to share his new-found fame with. No one really cared. So the Egret and the Cormorant came to the understanding they would share the perch. When it was free it was first in, first on. The ducks decided they didn’t really care, and the Oyster Pickers moved further around the lake as they were want to do.

So, I guess Self Esteem is not an issue – it was just pure curiosity.

The whole thing was nothing but a storm in a tea-cup!

Isn’t that what we find in life? We strive to be the best. To stand above the rest. To stand out. To be special. To enjoy the adoration of others. It’s called pride, another version of greed, wanting to covet things we don’t have. But in the long-term, pride lasts for such a short time and pride can bring us to a very lonely place. Ultimately we find we are really happier just being one of the crowd, being a part of the family, being accepted and valued for who we are.

I think we can learn from this little story. Jesus said: “What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you?” Mark 8:37 (Message)

Jesus also said, “Be alert, and guard your heart from greed always wishing for what you don’t have. For your love can never be measured by the number of things you possess.” Luke 12:15 (The Passion Translation)

Blessings,

Marilyn

All photos are the work of the author.