 Don Heberly |
by Bro. Don Heberly |
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THE GRACEFUL SWALLOWProverbs 26:2The Bible has four verses that mention the swallow. Four characteristics are referred to: ( 1 ) their nest; ( 2 ) their flight; ( 3 ) their flight: and ( 4 ) their migration characteristics. References are found in Psalms 84:3; Proverbs 26:2; Isaiah 38:14; and Jeremiah 8:7. I believe I have had ample scrutiny in my youth to speak of them. I have only had opportunity to observe 2 of the 7 kinds listed in a bird book I have at hand. Our farm had a large barn. It was a multi-use structure. It housed horses, mules, cows, calves, hogs, and forage for the animals; and shelter for a car at times of adverse weather. Nearly, if not always, the swallows returned to our barn and renovated or rebuilt the former nest. It was on the south side of a joist near a large door. It mystified to me know where they found mud that would adhere to wood and hold together as it did. It must have come from the nearby creek which ran nearby, or a spring fed pond also close by. They fed on flying bugs or insects - - - they were so skillful in flight.The Lord notes this in Proverbs 26:2. In the course of the spring fed stream, on it's way to the pond, there was a sandrock ledge that changed the course of the stream at a 90 degree angle.This ledge became the home base of a colony of cliff swallows. There nest was like a bowl laid up against the wall, with a hole or tube for the entrance. It was made of that special mud. Hundreds of trips with a mud ball in their beak afforded the building material for their home on the cliff. They stayed only one year for some reason. They afforded a delightful entertainment for a 9 or 10 year old boy - - - to be sure. I took pictures of the colony with my camera. Thru moves by the family accounted for the loss of the pictures.I was not present at any of these moves. As the verse cited shows, the Lord cares for His beautiful creation. He gave them skill and talent to live a beautiful life. Folks, think of how He has endowed us with the knowledge and ability to live our own lives before Him. We should find His will for us - - - His ways - - - and obey His Divine Unctions to us. He cares for us. Obey Him in what He wants us to do,even as those of the bird kingdom do. DDH |