"For, lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; the flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds is come." Sol. 2:11,12.
Martins return each spring to North America, and their cheerful chirping, added to that of other birds, makes a pleasant atmosphere for all. How good it is to remember that each one of these is a part of God's wonderful creation, just as we are. He watches over and cares for them, as His Word, the Bible, tells us, "Ye are of more value than many sparrows." Matt. 10:3131Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. (Matthew 10:31). Each one of us should thank Him for His loving care.
The forked tail and wide wings of martins, as well as the way they catch food on the wing, indentify them as part of the swallow family. There are several species, including the house martin, the sand martin and others, but we will just take a quick look at the largest—the purple martin. The males of this variety are colored all over with pretty purple feathers including their tail and wings. The female is much the same, but the underside of her body is light colored.
Because they are great insect eaters they have earned the friendship of farmers as well as those who live in the suburbs, many of whom place "martin houses" on tall supports near their homes or barns. Some of these houses allow space for 100 nests or more. But there is one problem in these "apartment houses" which have adjoining balconies where the birds like to perch and alight before entering their nests. The baby birds, able to hop about but not yet ready to fly, sometimes come out of their nests onto the balcony. After exploring around they forget which hole they came from and so are likely to enter a neighbor's house by mistake. Strangely enough, parent martins do not seem to be able to recognize their own chicks. When returning to their nests after this has happened, they have no way of hunting them out from their newly adopted home, where they are accepted as part of that family.
Although martins do not like other birds as close neighbors, sparrows don't share these feelings. If there is an opportunity a sparrow will move into the martins' "housing project" and even chase a true owner away. If this happened to most birds, they would work together to keep the intruder out, but the martin is not a fighter so meekly accepts the loss of its home to the smaller thief.
Our opening verse speaks of the happy season of the year when winter's cold, dark days are over, flowers are showing their pretty colors, and birds are returning from their migrations. It is a good deal like that, too, when a boy or girl learns to put his or her trust in the Lord Jesus. The dark times are put behind and the reality of being a Christian brings a joy many times better than even the yearly return of springtime. Has this been your experience?