Look Again and Consecrate

The thing about lilies and birds . . . they don't screw up. I screw up. I can even screw them up. I've killed two budgerigars and several Asiatic lilies. I gave one of the budgies a bath (a spritz bath with a spray bottle just like the book said). I think it caught cold. The next day it was dead. I fed the other one strawberries, right before I read that strawberries are poisonous for parakeets. Of course, it could have been that Nikki, the cat, gave it a heart attack, but the point is, it wasn't anything the budgie did . . . because budgies don't screw up.

"Their main aim is to obey the principle of life that is in them and God looks after them" -- Oswald.

Lilies sprout, bask in the sun, soak up the water from their roots, grow and look beautiful. Unless I forget to water them, plant them in the wrong place or overfertilize, they will give glory to God with all their sunny orange, yellow and fuschia might.

Budgies and lilies do not worry because budgies and lilies do not sin. I sin, and I worry. I worry that I spent too much money on Christmas presents so I might not have enough for this month's tuition or mortgage or utility bill. I worry because I may have been insensitive and hurt someone's feelings. I worry because I might not be cool enough and people might not like me and then I might not like myself. I worry because I am not always obeying the principle of life that is in me -- the one that says, "Look up."

I can be pathetic -- like right now when all I can think about is how much I want a toasted croissant spread with a thick layer of Nutella -- and then if I eat it, all I'll be able to think about is how fat I'm getting and how I'll never be able to fit into those cute black pants again. And then I'll be depressed and mad at myself for being so undisciplined. Look up.

God loves me. This is a hard concept for me to grasp because, as I said, I screw up. My flight is not always smooth, my feathers always preened or my beauty always readily apparent, but God loves me. He loves me more than the birds of the air or the lilies of the fields who never get it wrong.

If I obey the principle of life that is in me -- "to consider God every day of my life" -- he will look after me.

Look up.