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LESSONS FROM THE BARN SWALLOW
Day by day without worry

A Commentary by Constance Vanides

"Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!" (Psalm 27:14)

I struggled to survive a sudden deadly illness that first week in the Critical Care Unit of the hospital. My husband had put out an emergency call for prayer to family and friends and at the end of that week, the doctor pronounced a miracle had taken place! I was alive!

After discharge from the hospital, much healing remained. I needed strength to be able to walk, talk, think and hear again, to withstand the continual pain in my head, to overcome occasional coughing and low-grade fever. Full recovery was estimated at 4 to 6 months, a long time. In a rare, quiet moment, the Lord spoke to me clearly:

MY COMPASSIONATE PRESENCE
Each day I bring you into new life.
I show My compassion for those
who recognize the manifestation of My love.
Each day is a reminder of My constant presence.
I send ministering angels to surround you.

I was not to be anxious, but to place myself in the Lord's complete rest.

It was then my husband discovered high above and inside the front entryway to our home, a mud-splattered nest with a barn swallow sitting in it. While she nested, her mate would flitter away to catch food on the wing.

"Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?" (Matthew 6:26)

"For all these things the nations of the world seek after, and your Father knows that you need these things. But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you. Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom." (Luke 12:30-32)

So it was, day after day, as the barn swallow faithfully sat on her eggs, taking off occasionally to meet her own needs, I became encouraged little by little, not to worry about my life, but to rest in the Lord to bring me into His healing rest, looking to His promises, patiently.

There is more activity in the nest now, with three newly-hatched mouths wide open! I will continue to watch until with strengthened wings the fledglings fly away. As for me, I wait, too, as my strength returns.

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