In
the 1940 movie The Blue Bird, Shirley
Temple travels in the past, present and future to find the Blue Bird of
happiness. While the overriding theme of
the movie is contentment, as she finds at the end of the story that the Blue
Bird was at home the whole time, I wonder if a minor theme is to not miss the
obvious. I remember early in the movie
that Shirley Temple’s character saw the bird her mother had and her mother saw
the bird as a Blue Bird, but Shirley Temple’s character did not.
How
often does that happen in other areas of life; in marriage, in the church, at
work, with our friends and relatives?
Jesus said, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town,
among his relatives and in his own home,” (Mark 6:4). I think sometimes we get “used to” or
“comfortable with” the ideas we have about people. Not a day goes by that my brother does not
amaze and astound me. And why? Because growing up, while he was quite
intelligent, he didn’t apply it in many areas and barely graduated high
school. Many of his teachers were shocked that my brother was eligible to get his diploma. But today, over 10 years later, he and his
wife are living within their means, they are able to enjoy life with their two
little girls, and he even has amazing vision and a financial plan for where he
sees himself moving professionally.
I’ve
seen this with people we know, friends, acquaintances; they start out in life,
hit some rough patches, stumble for a while, but through God’s wisdom, grace,
& love are transformed into strong, God-honoring men and beautiful,
passionate women. Who are these men and
women? They live among us. They are Blue Birds in disguise. Not by any disguise of their own choosing,
but by a shroud their slip-up, trip-ups, and give-ups have laid over them. What do we need to do? How do we keep these Blue Birds from flying
away, seeking refuge and a chance to start again, seeking a chance to be seen
as something other than their past failures?
We
walk with them in Galatians 6-style: restore them gently; carry each other’s
burdens; don’t quit on them on or on trying to encourage and coach them along,
(vv. 1, 2, 9, 10). While it’s true that
in all of each person’s tough and painful situations, the common denominator is
that person, isn’t it sad to think that Blue Birds in disguise are wandering
around among us, waiting to be seen as true, beautiful Blue Birds?
Father,
open my eyes to the Blue Birds around me, those whose ways and past days have
left them scared and broken. Help me to
follow your lead, Lord, to love them back to you, to encourage them, to allow
them to blossom and to bloom. Help me
not to disregard the Blue Birds, Lord.
In Jesus’ Name I pray, Amen.
The LORD will guide
you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will
strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring
whose waters never fail. ~ Isaiah 58:11
