Like A Sparrow
4/17/2012
Today is my 27th Birthday & it was very special! I am abundantly blessed to be surrounded by a community of believers during this time in my life. This day also marks my 1 year of baptism & I love that the Lord made it so I can keep track of the years I walk with him by allowing me to come into a new life on April 17th.
My team of 6 others & another community of the church we have been working with this month have swarmed me with love & refreshment. I woke up to a huge gigantic poster with love written all over it & Happy Birthday’s. We awoke & I had a special breakfast with my favorite, blueberry muffins,made by Ukrainian Mama Ronda! Then other special surprises throughout the day such as special requests of favorite foods for lunch(grilled cheese & tomato soup) & dinner accompanied with special m&m cookies made with love by Lindsay. This family knows how to celebrate birthday’s in an incredible way. I am so glad my birthday was here in Ukraine. It was befitting that it was in this country that I just fell in love with. After a morning of team bowling, coffee treats, and a little shopping I went into town with some of the family. I came across a ring that had a sparrow on it & I know the Lord spoke specially to me that this is my year for the Sparrow…I didn’t know what it meant but came to look it up online…
Sparrows-small as they may be, are powerful. I read that they do not have to be the loudest voice to be heard. Other words that describe sparrow include :
-Joy –Inclusion –Creativity -Simplicity –Protection –Community -Productivity & –Friendliness.
Sparrows derive power & protection from their numbers. They move in clusters and are content as such. They can be intimidating to their predators. The Sparrow is vigilant in her goals; gathering her young, and bustling for food. Fastidious and productive is a reminder of idle hands & minds are to be avoided to have a healthy, and life to the fullest. Master of flight, and creative by nature; often thinking outside of the box. Remembering to keep her burdens light in order to avoid a heavy heart.
The hymn, “His Eyes are on the Sparrow” says:
“Why should I feel discouraged? Why should the shadows come? Why should my heart be lonely When I know with Source I am One? I sing because I’m happy, I sing because I’m free, The Eye of Source is on the Sparrow, I know Source watches over me.”
In the bible, a sparrow was often a offering made by a person without any means. All birds in the bible were symbols of the presence of God. Throughout literature a sparrow was seen as a catcher of lost souls. Sparrows can also resemble death; I believe God has been speaking in me that my old self has died. It no longer lives & I am his new beautiful creation.
It was such a prophetic picture painted about me & how the Lord views me. It also has a lot of symbolism of what this year has been for me. Constant community, traveling in “clusters”, power in numbers, catching lost souls. Small yet powerful with words and life. Simplicity yet hard at work. Creative by nature.
These things I know are all true about me & where the Lord is taking me. I pray to be more like the sparrow; not needing to yell in order to be heard but to know that the Father is watching over me. That he is using Christ in me to bring lost souls to him. I am so thankful for the past year of where the Lord has brought me to & all the joy he has filled me with. For the life & love he poured in & out of me. This is just the beginning.
Thank you all for the Birthday love, support & prayers that you bring. You are my family & part of the “cluster” that the Lord has blessed me with. We draw on one another through the Lord for strength.
