Jessie’s Feather Story: What Does it Mean if I Don’t Get a Feather?

Today is a guest post by my friend and blogger Jessie Weaver.  She found her feather yesterday after a very bad day, but I love her story because God asked her a very important question before she found it that I think He wants to ask us all.

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Here is what I know about finding feathers: you have to be willing to look down and see one.

Yesterday morning, I begged God to let me find a feather that day. I needed affirmation that He saw the difficulty we are going through with my daughter starting kindergarten. That He knows my heart is bruised and needs a coating of His Jehovah Rapha love. And I believed, with all of that sullen heart, that He could and would provide a feather.

And yet, I found myself a few hours later, realizing I never took the time to look down. I exited the house with my 5-year-old and toddler in tow, buckled them in the van, and then realized I had a flat tire. We borrowed a car from someone else in our building, took my daughter to school, had AAA come to put on the spare, drove to the mechanic to get the tire patched, and then finally made it to my MOPS group, an hour late. I rushed around, the squirmy toddler leaving me little focus.

But then it was the afternoon and I mused that God could only have shown me a feather if Joshua (17 months) had stuffed it into his little mouth.

Hours later, after what seemed like the longest day in history, I was able to be by myself for a few minutes after I got Libbie from her bus stop. I let her go down into the apartment and walked around our building, praying and trying desperately to feel God’s leading.

“Would it mean I loved you less if I didn’t give you a feather, dear one?” He asked me.

“No, God. But please … I need to know You are here.”

Defeated, I began walking back the way I had come. And right there, sticking up out of the soft grass like a flag, was the feather.

I can choose what to look for. I can look for inconveniences, reasons to be upset, ways my kids and husband have messed up – ways I have failed myself. I can look at the toy-littered floor and only see crumbs and mess and how my back hurts and I can’t pick it all up again.

Or I can see blessings, ways to thank God in every moment. His sacred presence sweeping through the mundane places in my everyday. Tiny blonde curls and a winkled nose as the toddler smiles at me. Food in our refrigerator, living in a natural wonderland, with the river running close, the trees abundant with wildlife, the places to run and play full of His glory.

God will give me the feathers. But I have to go out and collect them.