Humans don’t always make their world as easy as it should be, and quite often, folk can end up feeling let down. The other day, I came across a small pigeon that felt this way. He’d been sitting on the steps of his local bank, waiting to make a deposit. But the doors of the bank remained firmly closed, because unknown to him, it was one of the 4,685 local branches to have shut since 2015. Our pigeon stuck it out for three long days before eventually having to leave “his deposit” on the steps outside the doors. And his experience defied all of the wonderful slogans which human banks have put out over the years. Slogans such as “Helpful Banking” and “Your Future, Our Priority” (Nat. West.), “By Your Side” (Lloyds), and “Banking The Way It Should Be” (Barclays). Despite their promises, these banks have put their personal profits over and above customer service, (with the top six collectively earning some £41.1billion of profits in 2022). Hmm. I can see why a very old and hairy human once said:
“A man who lacks reliability is utterly useless.”
(Confucius: [c.551-c.479BC]: Most revered of all Chinese philosophers)
The truth is that humans can’t always rely on the things that they want to in life. When they get married to one another, they promise…. “to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish till death do us part.” And yet some 110,000 divorces take place in the UK every single year.
Or else they buy a car to make up for their lack of wings, only for that car to break down. (Between April 2018-March 2019, some 224,2250 cars broke down on UK motorways alone).
We parrots have an old saying that “When Life knocks you down, simply roll over and look up at the stars.” But of course, being Coco the Christian parrot, I take this a step further. Instead of looking up at the stars, I look up at my Creator. Because unlike humans, machines, and at times, our very selves, God will never let us down. He’s always steady and reliable and wanting the very best for us all, irrespective of whether we deserve it. That’s why when our whole world is shaking, or falling down around us, He is the one constant we can always depend upon!
“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” (Corrie ten Boon: [1892-1983]: Dutch-born Christian author and survivor of a WW2 Nazi concentration camp)
“Let God’s promises shine on your problems.” (Corrie ten Boon [As above])
“There is no cross, big or small, in our life which the Lord does not share with us.” (Pope Francis: [1936-present]: Current leader of the Roman Catholic Church)
“In our roughest moments, remember, God is our Father; God does not abandon His children.” (Pope Francis [As above])
“Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God said: ‘Never will I leave you never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 13: 5)
