On worry and little birds

photo by Marc Prokosch

I’ve been re-reading Anne Lamott’s book “Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life.” I was probably introduced to it when I was in college, and still find myself returning to it every couple of years. The title “Bird by Bird” is a reference to a story about Anne’s father and her 10-year-old brother. Her brother was sitting at the table surrounded by all that he needed to write a report on birds….a report he had had three months to write but was just starting the day before the due date. Anne writes he was “immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead,” as any of us would be. We have all been in his shoes, overwhelmed by the work that needs to be done mixed with the shame of knowing that this is a disaster of our own creating.  Anne goes on, “Then my father sat down beside him, put his arm around my brother’s shoulder, and said, ‘bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.’” 

Bird by bird. It makes so much sense, and yet, in the moments of being overwhelmed we aren’t always in a sensical frame of mind. Our brains are feverishly trying to do it all, get ahead, magically bypass the natural order of how tasks are accomplished. And yet, bird by bird is really the only possible way to go. Bird by bird can become a mantra, a reminder that slows down our frenetic thinking. 

In the Gospel of Matthew chapter 6 we hear good news when Jesus says,  “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life?” 

One of the things I love about this gospel passage is the knowledge that Jesus acknowledges our worries. Worry is real, but can become dangerous when we let it create our reality. These words of Jesus sound a lot like he is urging us to take it bird by bird. Our true reality (versus our worry reality) is shaped by a God who creates for us, forgives for our sake, and is ridiculously abundant when it comes to loving us.  By turning our attention to the birds of the air who do not fuss and worry and fall into shame spirals when life doesn’t go perfectly, Jesus is helping us reframe our worry. Jesus is helping us see the kingdom of God right in front of us in the midst of our daily needs and worries. Jesus is helping us to hold our worries a little more lightly. Maybe “bird by bird” can become a reminder for you when you are in the midst of being overwhelmed, when you are surrounded by what is yet to do, and when the worries start to cloud your reality. Maybe the reminder can help you be a  little more bird-like, living into the reality of being in God’s care.

Peace, Ruth