Barn Swallows and Bulldogs
Normally, my eyes are full of our bulldogs because it's hilarious as they position themselves beside me .... noses to the ground, while they watch for jumping frogs.
But those barn swallows.....oh, they hold a place in my heart that others may find odd. They seemed to know exactly when I got on that Zero Turn, that food would soon be served.
Watching them brought me straight back to my childhood.
When I was a young girl (about 9/10 yrs old), mowing lawns was my summer job. It was how I saved up for things I longed for.....like a boom box and a bike. But the best part wasn’t the $5 for a job well done, it was the company of those swallows, flying so close that they nearly brushed my shoulders. Their effortless grace made the hard work feel lighter, their joyful presence a kind of friendship.
But there was something else, something more sacred about those moments.
I remember how I’d pour out my broken heart out to God in tears...secret prayers and burdens shared only with Him. Mowing my neighbor’s yard was the perfect hiding place to let those feelings flow freely, because no one could hear me but God. The swallows were witnesses to those quiet, tender conversations between my heart and the One who listens when no one else does.
Even now, watching them circle and dive, I feel that same confirmation - God is listening. That no matter how noisy the world gets, or how heavy my heart feels,
When I was a young girl (about 9/10 yrs old), mowing lawns was my summer job. It was how I saved up for things I longed for.....like a boom box and a bike. But the best part wasn’t the $5 for a job well done, it was the company of those swallows, flying so close that they nearly brushed my shoulders. Their effortless grace made the hard work feel lighter, their joyful presence a kind of friendship.
But there was something else, something more sacred about those moments.
I remember how I’d pour out my broken heart out to God in tears...secret prayers and burdens shared only with Him. Mowing my neighbor’s yard was the perfect hiding place to let those feelings flow freely, because no one could hear me but God. The swallows were witnesses to those quiet, tender conversations between my heart and the One who listens when no one else does.
Even now, watching them circle and dive, I feel that same confirmation - God is listening. That no matter how noisy the world gets, or how heavy my heart feels,
He hears me!
He meets me in the hum of the mower, the rush of the wind, and the dance of those fearless little birds!
So today, I’m grateful....for barn swallows and bulldogs, for long grass and low spots in the yard, and for the God who listens when we pour our hearts out in secret. May we all find those small, sacred moments where heaven and earth meet...and yes, even in the middle of mowing a lawn.
So today, I’m grateful....for barn swallows and bulldogs, for long grass and low spots in the yard, and for the God who listens when we pour our hearts out in secret. May we all find those small, sacred moments where heaven and earth meet...and yes, even in the middle of mowing a lawn.
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