Cairns -Knots and Wrens

One of our single friends told me this week that he feels a "knot" in his stomach when school starts ... on behalf of all the kids who feel it for themselves. That belongs somewhere in the Sermon on the Mount. "Feel a knot with those who feel a knot." :) You don't have to be a parent to feel that knot for students you know and love or even those you don't know. It means a lot to me to have friends "feel knots" with us.

This week, I watched a high school boy standing at the curb in the pick up line. His whole countenance said, "I'm insecure and feel alone, but I'm trying not to look it." He nervously shifted from foot to foot, as if the pavement was hot and his soles were thin. He held a notebook of papers and kept looking down, as if there was something he needed to study immediately ... but it was the end of the day. The hand dropped at his side squeezed and let go over and over, like he had a stress ball ... but he didn't. I felt a knot for him! Have you seen a student this week that has pulled at your sense of compassion this week? At times like these, I have to be reminded of why we let children (and ourselves) go through experiences that are just HARD in the name of things like "learning and growing and stretching." One morning this week, JoHanna reminded me.

Remember those wrens (we thought they were finches) that hatched on my porch this summer? Jo was getting her things ready to go, and I was straightening up "school stuff" in the kitchen and making smoothies. She ran downstairs to grab something from the laundry room (get that stuff ready the night before!) and stopped to tell me she was worried about the baby wren on the porch. With ten minutes til "Go time," she was worried about the baby wren. Love her sensitive spirit ... maybe a stall tactic, but still sweet. :)

The wren hatched over a month ago, yet still wants to stay on our porch, happy to go from wreath to rain to bushes to chair. Maybe it's seen the neighbor's cat or the mowers across the street or the heavy rains we've had. It's hard for the little wren to leave her place of comfort. I explained to Jo that we should understand these things.

It's not easy to go out into the world of unknowns. It's natural to want to stay where it's easier. The wren isn't a baby anymore. It's time for the wren to expand her territory, to discover new things, though it can intimidate the young wrens who like their nest the best.

It's funny, but there were five wrens; only this one has insisted on lingering the longest. The others took off without much encouragement and went off to do wren things. But this one has stayed. We don't mind. She'll leave when it's time for her, with a little encouragement. I wish we knew how to say, "It's okay. Be careful out there, but there's so much to see and experience. You'll be so glad you flew," in Wren language. There's a Heavenly Father who sees and oversees your every move, even when those moves come with a knot in your stomach. (Click here to read the verse)

My little wren had a very hard 2nd day, but she's doing so much better. :) Does someone you know have a knot in their stomach we can pray about for you? We'd love to pray with you, 'cuz we know how it feels to be a wren.

Cairns,