Cardinals and the Camino

Every year around this time I receive a special blessing from two visitors to my home. They greet me every morning outside my bedroom window. A mating pair of Arizona Cardinals that tweet their sweet love songs from dawn to dusk everyday.  “ThweetThweetThweet’ the rhythmic call of the bright red male lifts into the coolness  of the Arizona May morning. Seconds later she echoes his call with a softer series of thweets but, as females sometimes do, she adds her two cents worth and finishes with “TooTooow” in descending tone. I have learned much through the years observing my feathered friends. Here are some lessons I will take from them on my Camino journey:

I don’t know if birds can love but when I see them sharing a branch or building a nest or rubbing their beaks together in what appears to be an avian kiss, I am reminded that if God’s lesser creatures can show such harmony, cooperation and apparent joy with their mate and surroundings, then so can I. 

I am awakened to their cheery tune early in the morning and I hear them call to each other as they flit between the Palo Verde trees throughout the day. They are industrious and stay busy until it is time to rest. I will try to do the same.

They do not have worries but thrive on the providence of God. I will trust that the Lord will provide for me from day to day.  Matthew 6:26-27

These birds or their offspring return every year to their point of origination. They don’t always stay, but they always return home. And by the grace of God, so will I.

They will be gone in June and so will I.