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. . .even a sparrow has found a home mixed media on stretched paper with embossing 16” x 24”
I had been observing the birds flying back and forth from the trees to our backyard restaurants. As they enjoyed the various seeds, I enjoyed their songs and delicate colors and feather patterns. It was a time when our financial status was crucial and I was concerned about how to pay our bills.
These beautiful birds reminded me of a scripture I had forgotten about: even the sparrow has found a home.1 After reading and researching the context of this reference, I learned the sparrow was regarded as the least of the birds, unessential and unadorned like other birds. Nonetheless, they had unhindered access to the temple and altar of God. In fact, they often built nests in the pillars of the temple. They had a home in the most extravagant of places.
I went on to consider the nest; birds find the right branch and labor untiringly to provide a safe dwelling for their young. In the middle of this research and pondering about birds and nesting, I received a gift. One morning as I walked in our backyard, I almost stepped on a perfectly woven empty nest that had blown from a tree branch. As I picked it up, I looked up in the tree wondering where it had been. It was so perfect, no damage at all, quite compact with even a small, tiny feather still lying in the middle. How intricate! I have woven fibers on a loom before, but have never seen anything like this perfect circle of finely woven pine needles, threads and natural materials.
As time went on, I realized how my worrying was futile. The creation of this painting come forth almost as a parable for me of God’s care and shelter for His own, whether it was for me or His magnificent creatures.
1. Psalm 84:3 ©copyright phyllis thomas 2008
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