I have a birdfeeder just outside my front window where I love to sit and watch the sparrows.  They can see my movement through the glass and are so timid that I have to sit very still before they are willing to venture out of their hiding place and fly up to the feeder to eat the seeds.  Most days, I barely have a moment to snap a picture before they are gone again.  Although they are common in this area, they are such a welcome sight and I always feel like I have been given a gift whenever they come to visit.  I think there are many things like this in our lives – gifts that are so common it is easy to take them for granted.  Yet when we focus on them, our lives are enriched and we are filled with gratitude.  What are some of these little blessings that enrich your life? 

The Flight of the Sparrow
By Krista Longeway

A little song sparrow timidly hides
Amongst the tree’s greenery on all sides.
She peeks out then retreats into shadows, 
A leafy shelter that only she knows.
I listen carefully to hear her song.
Each happy note ringing out, clear and strong.
She tilts her head in a questioning way,
As summer breezes make the branches sway.
Her eyes are like shiny black beads of glass,
Carefully watching to see what will pass.
If all is quiet, she finally might
Decide to emerge into full sunlight. 
She patiently waits here until she knows,
That each sound is only the wind that blows.
Then with one brave leap, she leaves the branches.
Into the air she gracefully dances,
Far above the branches from which she clings,
She flutters her delicate feathered wings.
I know when she sees me she will not stay.
The smallest movement and she flies away, 
For freedom is her greatest desire.
She soars in an arc, higher and higher 
Into the sky, far beyond the clearing,
Her tiny form slowly disappearing.
I watch all this with wonder and delight.
What a simple gift to witness her flight.