We wonder if the birds knew? Did they anticipate the arrival of the Savior? The stars knew He was coming. The Wise Men knew. The animals gathered at his birth knew. And his mother knew He had arrived within her. Surely the birds knew.
Creatures often seem to know ahead of time when a change is coming. Reports abound of animals taking actions prior to a change in climate or environment. Why wouldn't the greatest change, the greatest shift that ever occurred in history not alert little birds?
We think they knew.
Perhaps they looked a bit like this little bird. He's looking out over the bleak, harsh, cold environment surrounding him, to the spring. New life is coming! A new beginning is coming, a better way. He knows it and waits for it. And the calm assurance in his little face reflects this.
We think his ancestors may have looked like this just before Christmas Day. They had to know He was coming and they must have waited and watched with calm assurance, just like this little bird.
We hope the quiet expectation that the world and little birds held years ago on the starry nights before Christmas will envelope you and your family this season, as we wait to remember the greatest birthday ever.
The Velvet Lime Girls
The watercolor study of the Christmas cardinal is by Marybeth Wydock.
