Bird Nest.

I know the expected response from any Southern girl to the question, "what's your favorite season?" should be summer. I enjoy ice tea, lazy days on the lake, and my time off as a teacher,  but for the most part I am definitely a fall-and-winter-type girl. Yes, the scarves, boots and holidays might have something to do with it. But mainly it's the crisp weather, crunchy leaves, bundling up, crackling fireplaces, and smell- inside it's warm and cozy while outside it’s clean and crisp as if everything has been washed.

In the summer I have to wait until it is almost dark to go out for a walk or run, but in the winter I can walk outside almost any time and breathe in fresh air that is untainted by humidity. ;)

Over the Christmas break I had the chance to go on many walks and take in God’s beauty. Trees bare and beautiful without leafs; what is hidden a majority of the year is suddenly revealed. Several of the trees that line the paths have small bird nests tucked up high and cozy. These little nests, which have been hidden through every season are now visible enough that I can see each little branch and leaf that holds them together.

How clever… to take the scraps and make a home. What God does in our own lives, he reflects in even the smallest parts of nature. He takes the broken, the left over, the useless and gives it purpose and importance. Those little bits and pieces may never be what they once were, but they are something new.

As you start this new year and especially after the holiday season, what little bits and pieces do you have in your life that need to be given to God? What areas do you need to lift up to God and say, please take this or make it something new.