A Redbird in a Redbud Tree

I saw one yesterday. As I pulled into my driveway, I spotted the redbird sitting on a branch in the redbud tree just to my left. I got tickled at seeing two of my favorite things together and delighted in the alliteration of their names. The words put together helped cement the image in my mind… and I returned to it multiple times yesterday just for the smile the memory generated repeatedly.

I like that about words…that the right combination of the same, no matter how brief, can bring a whole memory or story or lesson back to my mind in length.

Once again I seem to be celebrating the gift of choice, yet in an unusual context. There are multiple ways to describe an event, but the joy of writing is to encapsulate a thought in as few words as possible, yet in such a way that it immediately evokes a picture in the mind along with the associated message, thus making the choice of those words immensely important.

When I seek to share a thought with written words, I know I’m not done until the subject title comes to me, usually suddenly. If I haven’t’ heard the title in my mind, then I know I still have work to do with my words. The title is like the bow on a wrapped package that makes the gift complete.

At times, though rarely, I receive the title first. This morning I asked God what I should write about, as my mind was blank. When He replied, “I told you yesterday,” I suddenly remembered the title above, and smiled my thanks all over again.

“I will stand at my watch… I will look to see what he will say to me… The the Lord replied: ‘Write down the revelation and make it plain… For the revelation awaits an appointed time… Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come…”(Habakkuk 2:1-3 NIV)