Parrots in Paradise by Susan Sanders

Sitting on the wicker couch on the upper lanai, it was peaceful. A bright blue horizon with pure white billowing clouds spread out across the sky. Suddenly, silence broke with multiple loud squawking noises, reminding me of a time in which I was yelling for my children to come down to dinner. You could not miss it. It was so alarming! The bright green parrots were making noise because they wanted to catch my attention. We had been feeding him and his friends almost daily, but life became busier, and we forgot to buy more seed for our feathered friends. We get caught up in our schedules, our video-watching, our art project, our incessant cleaning, that we tune out what is important. How many times have I said, “not now” or “maybe later” instead of dropping what I am doing to read that book or play that game of cards with my children instead? They ask politely first and then raise their voices louder until you can’t miss them! But now, these parrots were too loud to tune out. God is reminding me at this moment that I also often tune Him out. He calls me and asks me to do something, but I ignore it. He first speaks softly in a gentle whisper and then louder and louder, but I have tuned Him out. Just the other day I heard Him asking me to bring some donuts to a neighbor, and when I immediately obeyed, He double blessed me! Though I realized some kind of celebration was going on, I did not realize it was a drive-by baby shower, complete with boxed dinners. The Lord blessed me by giving me dinner for my entire family! It was an insignificant gesture to give them the donuts but look what God did! God pursues us daily, waiting for us to respond, much like the parrots on my tree, crying out for more food. Praise God that He is not too busy for us. He loves us so much that he seeks us out. We just have to sit still and listen, obey, and receive the blessing! (Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with me.) Now let me get to the store for that bird seed..

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