Abandoned Nest

 

"Blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear."

―Matthew 13:16, NIV 

 

In December of 2010, my sister and I placed our ninety-one year old mother in a nursing home. Anyone, who has walked this path, knows the emotional toll it takes upon a family. God, in his grace, used my love for photography as a diversion from the events that were beginning to unfold. My frequent thirty-minute drives to and from the facility became occasions for me to collaborate with the Lord as to my next daily photo and blog post.

Twenty-two days after my mother entered the facility, I noticed an abandoned nest in an adjacent wooded lot. As I focused my camera's lens on its poignant beauty, God quietly spoke to me of another “abandoned nest”―one whose tenant would never return.

I will always cherish my encounter and the bittersweet token of beauty God tenderly placed on my difficult path that day, simply to say . . . “I am here.” 

After a nine month stay, my mother left the facility for her eternal nesting place. That was two years ago today. I miss her daily.

No Revolving Doors

“I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved.
 They will come in and go out, and find pasture.”
―John 10:9, NIV

 

You have heard My call. Enter through the open gate. Fear not what lies within. I have the richest of fare laid up for you. No longer insist on living outside of My best. I want your undivided heart. 

You live like a nomad, pitching a movable tent somewhere between fellowship with Me and fellowship with the world. I have chosen you out of the world. It will not satisfy your soul. It is time to settle in. 

You invited Me―and I came. I entered into your abode; your earthly tent. I did not hesitate to come. I held nothing back and it is there that I remain. For Myself, I reserved a tent―for you, a mansion awaits. 

Come! Live in a house of strength and dignity; a place where you will remain in the company of the King. No longer separate yourself from Me. There is no revolving door within your Father’s house, just a simple gate―a gate that beckons, “Enter in!”

Enter in to My presence! Remain! Remain in My love!

Photo taken in Beaufort, South Carolina

Some Assembly Required

He makes the whole body fit together perfectly.

A missing piece could prove fatal.

 

 

"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love

and good deeds,  not giving up meeting together,

as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another

—and all the more as you see the Day approaching."
—Hebrews 10: 24-25, NIV 

 

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Photo taken at Randolph Mall, Asheboro, NC