FALLEN SPARROWS AND THE FATHER'S HEART
Yet not a single sparrow falls to the ground without your father's knowledge....Never be afraid, then--you are more valuable than sparrows. Matt. 10:29-31, Phillips
She sat alone, painfully thin and haunted-looking. Her dark eyes were cast downward, her shoulders drooped. It seemed hard to believe that this young woman had ever been excited about life. Not so long ago she had been full of song and wonderful dreams. Now she was like a little sparrow whose voice had been stilled, her head bowed in submission to the harsh winds and stinging rain that pelted her frail body. She was slowly starving herself to death. She suffered from anorexia nervosa--an often fatal disease that amounts to sophisticated suicide.
A frighteningly increasing number of young women are falling prey to the ravages of this perplexing disease. Are they to be scolded into eating? Force-fed? Gravestones testify to the invalidity of such treatment. The truth is that healing must begin from within the mind. All other methods are transitory and ineffective.
God knows about sparrows--both kinds. He sees the hearts of His tired and distraught children. Whether our problem is anorexia or alcoholism or anything else, He sees us huddled against the chilling winds of this earthly life and takes pity on us. He knows that it is no use to scold us or to force us. What we need is His healing love.
And so He begins. Little by little He wins our confidence. So as not to frighten us any further, He speaks to us in a still small voice. Soothingly, He gently draws us to Himself. We discover He understands us, that He cares--that He likes us! Gradually we are able to let go of our death grip on whatever "branch" we are clinging to. He is able to free us from being trapped in the storm. He encourages us to sing again and then to soar. And the joy of His presence becomes our reason for living.
Well might we consider each other as He considers us, how He deals with us. Perhaps it would temper our anger at one another's failures. Certainly it offers us valid suggestions as to how to respond to the circumstances in our own lives and other people's lives that are beyond our control. (Force does not bring control!) Having experienced His healing love ourselves, we know that there is no better way to treat each other.
Yet not a single sparrow falls to the ground without your father's knowledge....Never be afraid, then--you are more valuable than sparrows. Matt. 10:29-31, Phillips
She sat alone, painfully thin and haunted-looking. Her dark eyes were cast downward, her shoulders drooped. It seemed hard to believe that this young woman had ever been excited about life. Not so long ago she had been full of song and wonderful dreams. Now she was like a little sparrow whose voice had been stilled, her head bowed in submission to the harsh winds and stinging rain that pelted her frail body. She was slowly starving herself to death. She suffered from anorexia nervosa--an often fatal disease that amounts to sophisticated suicide.
A frighteningly increasing number of young women are falling prey to the ravages of this perplexing disease. Are they to be scolded into eating? Force-fed? Gravestones testify to the invalidity of such treatment. The truth is that healing must begin from within the mind. All other methods are transitory and ineffective.
God knows about sparrows--both kinds. He sees the hearts of His tired and distraught children. Whether our problem is anorexia or alcoholism or anything else, He sees us huddled against the chilling winds of this earthly life and takes pity on us. He knows that it is no use to scold us or to force us. What we need is His healing love.
And so He begins. Little by little He wins our confidence. So as not to frighten us any further, He speaks to us in a still small voice. Soothingly, He gently draws us to Himself. We discover He understands us, that He cares--that He likes us! Gradually we are able to let go of our death grip on whatever "branch" we are clinging to. He is able to free us from being trapped in the storm. He encourages us to sing again and then to soar. And the joy of His presence becomes our reason for living.
Well might we consider each other as He considers us, how He deals with us. Perhaps it would temper our anger at one another's failures. Certainly it offers us valid suggestions as to how to respond to the circumstances in our own lives and other people's lives that are beyond our control. (Force does not bring control!) Having experienced His healing love ourselves, we know that there is no better way to treat each other.
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