Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about birds.

According to local legend, many parrots were released during a 1958 fire which destroyed Simpson’s Gardenland and Bird Farm in Pasadena. The most common breed of parrot still living in Pasadena and the San Gabriel Valley is the Red-Crowned Amazon.

So I get to see and hear these beauties every morning:

Red-Crowned Amazons (Photo credit: Salvatore Angius)

I grew to love them when I first moved to the San Gabriel Valley back in July 2013 (I’m an early riser, so their morning chatter never woke me), and I actively missed them when they migrated south to Mexico for the winter.

But they’re back now, and I look forward to hearing and seeing them every morning.

And then last week writer/comedian Jon Acuff reposted something he wrote last year about birds. You can read the original blog post here, but the part that still lingers with me is this:

“In Matthew 6:26, Jesus tells us to look at the birds of the air. He intones that “they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?”

Have you ever thought about how common birds are?

You can find them on every continent. In fact, scientists estimate there are 200 to 400 billion birds on the planet.

Have you ever thought about the kindness of Jesus, using birds as his example?

He could have picked any rare animal in the world, but he didn’t. Instead, he picks one that blankets the planet. One you’d find in Antarctica or hundreds of miles out to sea. One you’ll see in the city or the suburbs, the desert or the jungle.

He picked one that’s everywhere.

Why?

Because that’s where God’s love for you is too.

Look at the birds.”

So this morning, when the birds and I were waking up at 5:45, I was reminded of Jesus’ analogy and of the abundance of God’s love for me.

And that has made all the difference.

Instead of being cranky because it’s only Wednesday, I need to go grocery shopping, I’ve lots of never-ending homework to do, and the birds won’t let me snooze, I woke up feeling like Cinderella from the 1950 Disney animated film.

Cinderella and her birds.

The next time you’re annoyed or bothered by birds (or as my friend Vanessa calls them, “mocking, slumber-stealing beasts”), remember that Jesus used them to remind us of God’s love for us.

It’s everywhere.