I am an avid birder. I live in Herold’s bay in the Western Cape and for those of you who know this area, it can get stormy. Recently, two Spotted Thick-knees decided to make a nest in our garden. They chose a spot completely exposed to wind, rain and sun to lay their 2 eggs. As soon as they laid their eggs, the storms arrived. Winds of 85km/hour blew over them from the ocean along with pouring rain. After the storm the sun will come out and then there was nowhere to hide. This weather pattern continued for the six weeks they spent in our garden.
Their breeding coincided with a time my husband had to go to Mali for an unexpected 6 weeks. The physical storms the thick-knees had to endure became synonymous with storms I had to endure during this time; their two eggs were the symbol of my hope. I would wake up at night with the wind howling and I just prayed for them, there was nothing else I could do to help. The moment the first chick hatched I was there to witness it, oh… the joy!!! Both chicks hatched and they are now a happy family of four.
I am absolutely 100% certain God sent those 2 birds to our garden to show me he won’t take the storms away, but He will get me through it. I am so humbled my God’s attention to detail; the morning my husband came back from Mali they left our garden and only came back a couple of times for a short stay; He sent them for me.
Sometimes God will take your storm away (Matt 8:26), but at times He will allow suffering (Rom 5:3-5). Every time I go through a storm, I draw closer to God and I am ALWAYS amazed by His love and kindness and by his incredible attention to detail to show Himself to me in these difficult times. I pray that God will rather keep me in a storm if it is a choice between being close to Him in a storm than being separated from Him without one. My hope is that we will glorify and praise Him in our suffering as we are being refined for His glory and His purpose (Isaiah 48:10-11).
