Cardinal

“Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul."   ~Emily Dickinson

On my walks downtown these days, there are not many sounds.  There are few planes, few people, and few cars.  My hear is thus cleared and I hear things like the birds.  A sure sign of spring…..and hope. 

On today’s walk, I saw a cardinal.  Part of me thinks it might be nice to be a beautiful, red bird just flying around, oblivious to the virus, building a nest, waiting for the eggs to hatch, and the babies to be born. Those eggs in the nest are another sign of hope as well.

Lamentations 3: 24 states:  "The Lord is my portion, says my soul, therefore I will hope in the Lord.”

Emily Dickinson and the writer of Lamentations both talk about hope and our souls.  She speaks of feathers and perching.  That makes hope feel light, like the feathers on a bird - a cardinal possibly.  Lamentations shows us where that hope lies - in our Lord.  So I’m working on being lighter during these often heavy days, keeping my hope perched in my soul and focused on the Lord!

This photo is compliments of my talented, photographer friend Dave Kelly.  This may not be the bird I saw, but it is a pretty amazing picture of hope. Thanks, Dave.