The Lesson of the Wren House (04/02/2025)

As I sat on my porch yesterday afternoon, I noticed a great deal of activity around the wren house hanging from the branch on the first tree past our home. First a sparrow came and tried and tried and tried to get into the tiny, round portal to no avail. I noticed a chickadee on a nearby branch biding her time as the sparrow checked out the digs. When the sparrow flew off in search of a better fit, the chickadee flitted to the wren house and did exactly what the sparrow had done with the same results. Both eventually had to admit that the wren house wasn’t right for them.

I will witness this same ritual all spring and into midsummer. Soon the wrens will arrive and take up residence. When that happens, they will chastise the interlopers as they appear. But it won’t help. Each and every bird will have to prove to themselves that the wren house isn’t their place. Life can be like that for us humans, too. Sometimes we set our sights on a place that really isn’t right for us.

For us humans, it’s not so much the architectural design that is wrong for us, it’s what the place offers, it’s what the place represents. In my lifetime, I can think of several times I desired a particular spot and then realized it was not where Christ was calling me to be. As a teenager, I wanted to be at the top of the popular list. As a young adult I wanted to live in the best neighborhood, drive a nice car, and wear fashionable clothes. I was nearly 30 before I came to realize that the best and most loving person the world has ever known died as an outcast upon a cross. Popularity isn’t the best moral or spiritual yardstick. And while there is nothing wrong with neighborhoods, nice cars, or fashionable clothes, I came to realize that what really matters isn’t about the externals but rather the internals – our hearts, our minds, our souls.

Lent is a good time for a spiritual reality check. After watching those birds yesterday, I decided it was time again. And I spent the next hour prayerfully discerning if I was where the LORD was calling me to be? Have I grown spiritually since last year? Have I become more loving? Am I closer to being the one the LORD created me to be? Am I closer to Christ? I found much good from my journey, but I also realized that my journey wasn’t done. So I can’t set up camp here in this spot and stay. Are you in the right place? Are you where Christ is calling you to be?

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.