Finding Hope in a Bird’s Nest
By: Ben Schutte
Tags: Coronavirus, Hope, Seasons, Jesus, Birds

Unless your name is Patrick Star and you live under a rock, you know that coronavirus has crippled most of the human race. The world feels dark, it feels weird, and it can feel hopeless. We wait in suspense every day for our state and national government to tell us more news about how bad the virus is getting. We scroll through twitter and other news apps just to get more and more scared, more and more confused. One article tells you there’s nothing to worry about, another one tells you it’s the end of the world. One doctor tells you it should be over by May, another tells you it might never truly end.

For the last few weeks I’ve been trying to figure it all out. How bad will it get? How long will it last? How much will be taken away from me? These were questions I was desperately looking for answers to, but my research came up short.

As I sat on my front porch this morning, after finishing one of my online lectures, I saw a few birds sitting on the power lines in front of my house. For a while they simply sat there, chirping. All of a sudden, they hopped off of the line and fluttered down toward the empty lot next to mine. They walked around picking up straw and twigs from the neighboring lot and then flew away, out of sight, into a nearby tree.

Yes, this the exact location of the above scenario.

It sounds like a normal thing for a bird to do, but if I’m being honest, the concept of birds making nests is one that I’ve known about, in theory, but have never truly watched in real time. And it intrigued me.

As I was low-key being hypnotized by mother nature, the song Graves Into Gardens by Elevation Worship began playing on my speaker—and it clicked. I had found the answer I was looking for and it wasn’t what I was expecting.

You see, the birds lose all that they have every single winter. But as Springtime approaches, they return and start to rebuild their beautiful, flourishing lives with twigs, sticks, and straw. They take what’s dead from the previous season and use it to bring life to the season that’s approaching.

And I think that’s exactly what God wants to do with your life, too.

Whether it’s coronavirus that is sparking fear in your life, or anything else that may have your life in shambles, God sees you. He sees where you are and what you feel. And if you need to cry, He’ll cry with you. If you need to mourn, He’ll mourn with you, if you need to yell and scream, He’ll sit and take it all in. And if you need someone to talk to, He’ll listen to every word you speak. Why? Because He loves you.

And when you’ve cried enough, mourned enough, yelled enough, talked enough, He’ll be right there. He’ll be right there ready to take the pain, the fear, the death from your current season and use it to bring beauty, joy, and life to the next season of your life.

This season of life is difficult for just about every person in this world. But I truly believe that what is waiting on the other side of this pandemic can be better than we could ever imagine if we choose to trust God with it.

And don’t just sit around waiting for that season. Make the most of this one too! If you’re with family, cherish that time that you’ll never get back. If you’re with friends, build and strengthen those relationships. While a majority of the world will back down and isolate (physically and relationally), you can choose to fight for family, fight for friendships, and make the most of this season of life.

All in all, regardless of our circumstance, this life is a gift. Seasons come and go. So will COVID-19. I believe that.

As the things of this world continue to be taken from us, and as uncertainty rises in the souls of the world, I’m turning to the One who created the world and everything in it to find hope for my current season and the season to come.

I pray that you will too.