This morning, I’m home taking care of my wife while she is not feeling well. Working for the school system, I get family sick days as well as personal sick days. It gave me a chance to sit at look outside on an overcast day threatening storms later tonight.

Out on the porch sits our dried up Christmas tree in all its fire-hazard glory.

You’d be amazed how difficult it is to get a 7.5 foot fir tree up three flights of narrow stairs. You’d be even more surprised how much more difficult it is to get it down. Along about the second week of January, we started talking about getting the tree down and this discussion lasted until March. The last pickup day was Feb, and it was frustrating that both of us spent the winter feling physically sick and tying up in martial discussions. As such, our discussion ended by moving it to our balcony.

Sometimes I see that tree at it makes me think of the issues my wife and I have faced in our young marriage. I get tempted to think that if we have trouble with this simple thing, how much more trouble will we have with bigger things, like children?

Today was different, though. As I looked out on the balcony watching the clouds, a small sparrow happened to light on a branch of the tree. After looking around a bit, he went deep into the tree only to emerge a moment later calling to his mate. She arrived a minute later and they both nestled down in the tree to wait for the rain to pass.

It reminds me of Luke 12 where Jesus said that God looks after the sparrows. I think about all the hassle that tree has caused me, but all of that grief has provided a moment where two sparrows can get shelter from a spring storm.

It encourages me that God can use a monument to my shortcomings as a help for others, even two small sparrows.