Awhile back, I wrote about friends posting pictures on Facebook of bluebirds, my bemoaning the fact that we didn’t have the proper habitat, and how a friend’s suggestion spurred me to buy a bluebird house. Read it here, BLUEBIRD HILL.

My heart nearly thumped out of my chest the day I spotted a bright blue bird on our deck. But wait. He didn’t have a rusty breast. I looked him up in my bird book and found he was an Indigo Bunting—our first. Isn’t he beautiful?

The bunting continued to visit—for which I was glad—but in truth, my heart was fixed on bluebirds.

Finally, after another week, I looked out to see a male bluebird perched on top of the birdhouse. His mate was peering inside. Each day I watched, hoping to see them, but they showed up only one more time.

I pushed back sadness.

While I continued my vigil, Baltimore Orioles and a Rose-Breasted Grosbeck dropped by. One day, I found our cats mesmerized by two tiny gold and black birds resting outside the patio door—Blackburnian Warblers—the first I’d ever seen.

We fed yellow and purple finches, titmice, cardinals, mockingbirds, wrens, waddling doves, and red-winged blackbirds.

A Moment of Truth

We were bird-rich.

So why did I feel poverty stricken?

The answer rocked me.

I was ungrateful.

I was as ungrateful as a toddler, demanding his friend’s toy truck when a fleet of new ones lay at his feet.

Only instead of trucks, I wanted bluebirds.

Shame crept over me as I thought of all the amazing avian gifts God had so recently sent us.

More Questions

What if bluebirds never nested in my handsome birdhouse?

Could I not rejoice in the bejeweled creatures that regularly frequented our deck?

I could.

I would.

With a sheepish prayer of repentance, I released those bluebirds to God, resolving to simply concentrate on whatever riches He provided each day.

And I’m making progress. Occasionally, when I glance at the bluebird house, hope rises for next year. But I’m leaving that to the Lord. When I find myself obsessing, I’ve found it helps to sing or quote a familiar verse: This is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in IT. (Psalm 118:24).

Could you be missing God’s blessings because you’re focusing on the wrong thing?

If so, I invite you to pray with me: O Lord, give us grateful hearts for the gifts you send. Deliver us from ingratitude.

And you might want to sing that chorus.

In the meantime, may your day be bluebird rich.

. . . in everything give thanks. For this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

I Thessalonians. 5:18 [NET]