Birds Of The Air.

This week something quite annoying happened in our neighbourhood. A flock of large, white cockatoos invaded our area. Hundreds landed in our neighbour's large palm tree to eat its berries, once they finished destroying the fruit and leaving a mess on our neighbour's lawn they all left and flew over our roof and headed to our backyard.

Knowing my olive tree is nearly ready for harvesting, I rushed out to my garden to see where the birds have gone. There they are all in my olive tree, screeching, ripping of leaves, biting the ripe olives, and then throwing hundreds of olives on our lawn. Such a waste... all the olives with only a small bight out of each one. I jogged around the tree with a large broom... swinging the broom and shouting at the birds. After a while they left, one by one... but the damage had been done.

I was so annoyed at the birds ruining my crop. For a moment I felt angry, and giving up on harvesting sounded tempting. I had thought of chopping the tree down, so that the birds would never interfere with my crops again - this made sense and felt good at that time... but it would of been foolish. I thought by giving up I would bet the birds.. I would win, they will never eat one of my olives again... but that would be the same for my fate as well. Being stubborn or giving up are not very attractive or helpful characteristics - even if it feels good temporarily.

Can I encourage you that when things have been tampered with, don't give up, focus on the end results. Some olives may not ripen, some olives will drop too early, some will be eaten by the birds of the air - but there will be a harvest! Disappointment could be destructive if you allow it to.

Growing with you,

Akita.
13-4-09

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Matthew 13 v 3-9
and
Matthew 13 v 18-23

Then Jesus told them many things in parables, saying:
"A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.
Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.
Other seed fell among the thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.
Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop - a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. He who has ears let him hear."

"Listen then to what the parable of the sower means:
When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart.
This is the seed sown along the paths.
The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root,
he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes
because of the word, he quickly falls away.
The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man
who hears the word, but worries of this life
and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.
But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man
who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop,
yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."


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Akita Olsen

Bunbury Vineyard Church.
PO Box 1475, Bunbury,
WA 6231, Australia.
www.bunburyvineyard.org.au

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