The random thoughts of a Christian parrot
When the weather’s nice, (and when the local Sparrowhawk isn’t doing its rounds), I sometimes go out into the garden for a treat. I love to feel the breeze ruffling up my feathers, and I like to imagine that I’m feeling the Holy Spirit flowing through me.
And I’m mindful of what that wonderful human, Corrie Ten Boon, once wrote. She said:
“Faith sees the invisible, believes the unbelievable, and receives the impossible.”
Of course, you can’t see, or hear or touch the Holy Spirit. But if you can open up your heart and let it flow through you, then you will know when you’ve been touched inside. Maybe after days of prayer, you’ll wake up one morning with an unequivocal answer to your problem. Or maybe you’ll suddenly feel able to do something that once seemed impossible. Such as saying sorry, or forgiving someone………
It’s very hard for living creatures to comprehend The Holy Spirit. But, in a parrot’s nutshell, if we allow the Holy Spirit to enter us, then we’re allowing the will, the essence and the flow of God to come inside us, and to guide us. And it can offer us all so much. A new inner strength. A knowing. Sudden wisdom. A purpose. A role. A direction. And most important of all, an opportunity to serve God.
I’m sure that the Holy Spirit touched me deep inside when I decided to launch this blog. After all, how many parrots go ahead and do that sort of thing? It was present at the conception, baptism and temptation of Jesus here on Earth. And it gave the strength, focus and direction to Jesus’ disciples when they ventured out into the world to spread the Christian message.
We can all be a bit stubborn or shut-off at times. (Even parrots!) I wonder how many times the Holy Spirit has tried to enter each one of us, and instead of letting it flow through us, we’ve simply blocked it off? Slammed the door shut! Maybe because of our pride or narrowness. Or because we like to believe we are totally self-sufficient? When that happens, we can cause ourselves a lot of needless suffering, and fail to fulfil our full potential.
Jesus once preached to His disciples that: “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart.” (Luke 6:45).
Let the Holy Spirit enter our hearts and it will fill us with goodness and love. And it will enable us to be something that is bigger, stronger and wiser and purer than we could ever have thought possible…………
