Today in my little slice of heaven here on earth my world was bursting at the seams with spring. Mother Nature’s watercolors in my yard were so beautiful — the deep pink of the roses, the glorious yellows and purples of the pansy blooms, the greens of the new leaves, and all the colorful plumage of the indigo bunting and the American goldfinches. The goldfinches arrived this morning, a small charm of males and females, the males dressed in their crayon yellow sports coats trimmed with black lapels, the females demurely dressed in soft brown. The male indigo bunting was gloriously dressed in his deep indigo blue plumage. Wasn’t sure he brought a mate but if he did she was dressed in basic brown.

We can learn life’s lessons from watching the beautiful songbirds in our yards. In 9 Life Lessons from Birds by Will Hall, Hall writes we learn from bids to be confident, to let our colors shine, to show up early and often, to always be cheerful, to go with the season, to be a good parent, to flock together, to spread our wings, and to return home. I am comforted and blessed each day by the beautiful birds that flock to the bird feeders in my yard. Matthew 6:26 states, “Look at the birds of the air; 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.”

I feel God’s presence each morning in the glorious music of the songbirds. The songbirds greet each day with songs of praise and soar through the heavens on the wings of God. I found these beautiful short prayers about birds this afternoon. Read these prayers together as an evening prayer today. Let your heart be thankful for God’s beautiful blessings in this wondrous world he created for us..

Here are the prayers —

“Lord, thank you for the birds, your feathered messengers, who fill the air with their songs and remind us of the beauty of your creation. May we, like them, find joy in the simple things and soar with hope.”

“Oh, God, I pray that I may be as free and carefree as the birds, that I may find joy in the simple things, and that I may never forget the beauty of your creation.”

“God of beauty, we thank you for the birds, our co-worshippers, for the joy and delight they bring, and for the role they play in balancing ecosystems. To you be all praise and glory.” 

“May the birds themselves remain my teachers as they greet the day as it is, find the sustenance in the moment, treasure their temporary dwellings, and, just as easily as this rainstorm passed, they let go of nests and chicks and everything my ego might decide is too necessary to release.” — In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Let me seek, then, the gift of silence, and poverty, and solitude, where everything I touch is turned into prayer: where the sky is my prayer, the birds are my prayer, the wind in the trees is my prayer, for God is in all. — Thomas Merton, Thoughts in Solitude