Upside down.

It has been lovely, here in Phoenix the past few days. On Monday, as I was walking into my house after a long day, I noticed a large amount of bird poop on the sidewalk. Thinking that this was abnormal, I was propelled to look up.

Low and behold, I discovered a massive amount of birds perched above, on the power lines. You see, we have recently over-seeded our lawn, so my hunch is that they're preying on what little seed they can get.

As I was looking up at them, glaring actually, I noticed that one of the birds among them was little; it was still learning how to balance, how to belong. It made me smile and thank God for His faithfulness.

I then spent some time just watching him (do I know that he was a boy? no. he just seemed cute like a little boy). The first thing I noticed, was that he was holding on to the power lines for dear life! He would look up towards the sky and his tail would be low -- pointing towards the ground. Next thing you know, the wind would hit and the bird would be upside down -- eyes facing imminent death (or at least that would be my bird assumption -- as it was facing the asphalt below) and tail foisted high in the air. Every time, he would manage to get back up -- to persevere in the bird culture and be.

I must admit that I felt like I could resonate with this little birdie. There are weeks when I feel light, I feel on track, I feel hopeful, I feel bulletproof. These weeks happen to be the weeks when I am looking up, facing homeward.

And still, there are other weeks when I feel as if I've lost my balance, my rhythm is off, my cadence is sour. It is in these weeks when perseverance is necessary, faith is hoped for, and the hope of Jesus is the only thing keeping me from falling.

All in all, the beautiful thing about this walk of faith, about watching this bird, is the realization, that I am not alone. I am surrounded by seasoned followers and am merely learning what it looks like to follow Jesus. Together, we are Jesus' culture and together, we belong.

Isn't redemption the greatest?