The sky is overcast this morning with thin layers of cigar smoke clouds. I keep waiting for Father Sky to sketch the clouds bellies dark gray to let the rain fall. Late afternoon the sun burned a hole in the clouds, just big enough for her to get her rays through, and quickly dissipated the clouds to beam down her golden rays from a robin’s egg blue sky.

There are no birds on the feeders this morning. The hawks’ screechings have chased the birds away to the oak across the driveway. I can hear their excited chattering as they wait for the hawks to fly away. The hawks have gone on their way and the yard is filling up with songbirds now. I see my friend Mr. Downy Woodpecker. I thought Kat had killed him. I know it’s him because he always has a greasy gray spot on the right side of his black and white checked sport coat. The finches have begun to quarrel and the adult cardinals are slowly flocking to the feeders in the side yard. The juvenile cardinals, both male and female, are so handsome this time of year. Their plumage looks like Mother Nature just dipped her watercolor brushes in shades of oranges and yellows and reds and browns and grays and blacks and flung the drops of color on the cardinals’ breasts and backs and wings.

The acorns have started to sporadically drop off the water oak’s branches. I hear the occasional ping on the tin roof next door. I found a small branch with one green acorn attached, the acorn a glorious granny apple green, dressed in its little fawn brown patterned cap, the acorn’s bottom a pencil lead black point. As an old saying states “from little acorns mighty oaks grow.” Biblical scripture doesn’t mention the little acorn specifically but scripture refers to the strength of the mighty oak tree. The oak tree is a world symbol of endurance and wisdom and strength. Ephesians 3:17 speaks of Christians as “being rooted and established in love.” The little acorn has everything it needs to develop into a magnificent oak tree. Our faith in God begins with a little seed of belief, helping us put down roots of faith that grow through prayer and Bible study. We nurture our faith, we grow a mighty oak of God’s grace and love.

The tiny acorn is a symbol of growth and new beginnings. Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn.” Something as small as a little acorn with the potential to grow a forest reminds us that nothing is impossible when we have faith in the Lord. We can grow a spiritual forest with our seeds of faith. We nurture our faith and our spiritual growth gives us peace and a sense of purpose. We need to be conscious of planting small seeds of faith in our daily life through our words and actions with others.

“The oak sleeps in the acorn, the bird waits in the egg, and in the highest vision of the soul a waking angel stirs. Dreams are the seedlings of realities.” — James Allen