His Eye is on the Sparrow

I stare out my window at the orange-tinted smoke-choked landscape. Ash from the nearby wildfire falls lightly like snow and covers my deck with debris.

I check my phone. In one week, Oregon wildfires have already burned one million acres and five towns. The Air Quality Index remains fixed at "hazardous," rivaling even India's worst days. Not good.

I inhale deeply but the smoke that has crept into our well-built house irritates my nose and eyes. Is there a tipping point where you run out of breathable air? "Lord, please send rain!"

My thoughts are racing. So many homes in outlying communities have already been lost. Will we be evacuated? How do you prioritize what to pack? What would it be like to lose everything?

I step closer to the window. Usually a great variety of birds enjoy flitting about our backyard, but I can't see any.

I want to flee this suffocating place, fly away like a bird. Birds. Did not Jesus say about the common sparrow that "not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father's care" (Matthew 10:29)? The smoke and ninety blazing infernos cannot obscure God's vision. He sees me, right here, right now!

"Don't be afraid," the Lord whispers. "You are worth more than many sparrows" (Luke 12:7).

And peace begins to softly rain down on me.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you that we are yours and always in your loving care, no matter what happens.

Published with Lifesprings International, 9/29/20.