The birds are flying home in the sunset of the day. Sacred ibises with their beautiful white feathers and black beaks, flying in formation past the green mountain toward their resting place. I hear the beat of wings through evening silence and my heart soars with the flock. When I am inside and unaware of the homecoming, my children call me to come and see. They understand my delight in what we have named "my birds".
Someone once told me that western civilization has lost the ability to enjoy things we cannot possess. We feel we will be happier when we own something. We often say, " do you like that? Then buy it!" We feel once we have a house registered on our name or a car or a beautiful dress… then we will be happy… or at least happier.. We fall into the trap of going out and buying something to cheer us up…
A short while ago when worrying about where the money would come from to pay for our home, I felt God asking me if I would be a custodian rather than an owner of L'Abri. With the affirmative answer came enormous relief. Custodians don't have to finance a project. They just have to care for and run it. A custodian has all the privileges of an owner but without the possession.
God is the Creator and Possessor of all things, even the small realms we believe we own. He calls us to delight in His creation and be custodians in His kingdom; to enjoy things not our own and appreciate beauty without greed; to work with His glory in mind and to be free from worry. Didn't Jesus direct our attention to the birds when he spoke about His provision in Matt 6:25-34?
As His flock flies home I understand that I am a custodian in this world, nothing more. This realisation makes me feel free as a bird!