Life Lessons From a Bird, a Net, and a Scissors—Plus a Birthday Giveaway!

They ate our green beans. Birds—common yard sparrows—dove into our garden plot and munched the blossoms down to nubby stalks.

My husband was ticked. Don’t mess with the man’s garden. He replanted and covered the new sprouts with netting.

A few days later, I stood at the kitchen window rinsing dishes. Commotion near the corner fence caught my eye. I squinted for a closer look. Sure enough, a bird flopped on top of the garden net like a beached fish.

The poor thing was stuck.

Great, I grumbled. The net was supposed to protect our beans, not torture animals. I grabbed a pair of scissors and some gardening gloves.

“Want to see a bird up close?” I asked my five-year-old daughter.

“Where?” Her eyes grew round.

“In the garden. Follow me.”

Imagine lying bound and gagged while Godzilla approaches wielding sharp objects. That must’ve been how the bird felt as I walked toward it. At first, it flapped its wings in a blur of feathers, frantic to escape. Then when I reached the net, the bird froze. Its chest ballooned and collapsed in quick, panicked breaths, but the rest of its body held strangely still. Carefully, without touching a single feather, I clipped the nylon mesh around its toes and set it free.

Darn beans. They aren’t worth it.

Sometimes, my children are like that bird. How many times have I told them not to eat the beans, so to speak? Don’t jump off the sofa; you’ll get hurt. Don’t devour too much popcorn; you’ll get a tummy ache. If you say the word “poopy” one more time, I will send you to the naughty chair. So we build rules like nets to protect them from themselves.

Yet if I dig a little deeper, I realize, I am like that bird, too.

Don’t blow your top at the kids; you’ll regret it.

Don’t give pride a voice; you’ll wound your husband’s heart.

Don’t wish for someone else’s stuff; you’ll lose sight of what’s already yours.

Don’t log onto e-mail more than you look into your children’s eyes; you’ll miss your own life passing by.

The Master Gardener watches from his window and sees me flailing. He draws near, whispering to my anxious, injured soul. My child, how many times do I have to tell you? Temptation is a tangled net. Fly into it, and it will own you.

I write this blog because my life is a mixed bag of blessings and mess. And I hear you sigh, mine too. Motherhood reveals the ugliest and the most beautiful parts of our souls. So I show up here every week to point it all to God—praising him for the beauty, and trusting him to redeem the mess like only he can.

Which leads me back to the bird. Our garden story has a twist. After I snipped the netting, the stunned creature remained motionless for a moment. Then, in a surge of hope and courage, it flapped a wing, lifted its foot and flew!—straight into the hole I’d just cut in the mesh. The crazy thing jailed itself beneath the net.

“Over there, birdie, fly back up through the hole!” My daughter and I gestured wildly toward the exit, as if the bird spoke Godzilla’s language. It hopped around in confusion, tried to lift off, and banged its head against the net. Finally, it squeezed through a small opening in the surrounding fence, and was free.

“Yay! It’s out, it’s out!” We clapped our hands and laughed. Victory for the bird!

Victory for all of us. It’s out there—if we know where to find it.

“No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it,” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

God cuts the hole in our net. We’re going to get tangled sometimes—that’s for certain. But when we do, our gentle Lord holds the scissors. He points toward the exit and cheers us on to freedom.

How do I know?

{I can’t resist.}

A little birdie told me.

And now for a birthday giveaway!

Happy birthday to the blog! This week marks Time Out’s first full year of mom mishaps and encouragement. To celebrate, throughout the week I’ll be highlighting on Facebook some of my favorite posts from the past year. Join me there to win prizes! (What’s a birthday bash without presents, right?)

I’ll be giving away special gifts created by my friend and Hallmark/Dayspring signature designer, Jeanne Winters. Enter to win her beautiful book, Inspirational Home, or the 8×10 print of your choice from Jeanne’s delightful Etsy collection.

Two ways to enter:
1. “Like” my Facebook page and/or
2. Share a Time Out devotion, then leave a comment on the blog or on Facebook to let me know you’ve spread the joy. I’ll enter your name in the drawing for every post you share.

Winners will be announced next week! Thank you all for joining me here. I count you among my blessings, and I sincerely hope this blog is a blessing to you as well.

Linking up with: The Better Mom, Playdates With God, Mommy Moments, Titus 2sdays, Domestically Divine Tuesday, Living Well Wednesdays, Grace at Home, Things I Can’t Say, Thought Provoking Thursday and Faithfully Parenting Fridays.