Helicopters

Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.--Matthew 6:28f.
 Each spring, I play with silver maple seeds. These "helicopters" have been around forever, but I've only known about them a few years. My son-in-law, Jeff, picked one of them up from the ground and threw it into the air. "Helicopters," he exclaimed. I watched in wonder as the little bud twirled in the air, gently falling back to the earth. I had never paid them much attention before. I guess I was just too busy thinking about "grown-up" things. I had my eyes on the ground, seeing, but not perceiving God's wonder before me.
I seems that in springtime, silver maples shed their seeds, made in the shape of little half-propeller blades with weighted hubs on the end. The hub part is what shields the seeds. If you look at the pod from the leafy end, it looks like an airplane wing. A stiff spar curves out from the bulb, and leaf grows out from the inside of the curved spar, making a perfect airfoil. People had been looking for the secret of flight for thousands of years, while it lay at their feet each spring. Once the Wright brothers perfected a working airplane and propeller, it was another thirty years or so before Igor Sikorsky's team produced a successful helicopter.
Each spring, God showed the people how to make an airplane, and they just ignored the message. They were too busy worrying about their crops or keeping an eye out for marauding Sabeans or something to pay attention to nature's wonder. So much lay at their feet and hung in the air all around them, and all they could do was manufacture spears and swords to kill each other.
I play with these "helicopters" and share them with children. "Who needs expensive toys?" I ask, "When God gives you toy helicopters to play with?" In addition, my wife sometimes teaches children how to take lightning bugs and write their names on their shirts. Truly, God's nature is full of wonder for children of all ages.
It says so in the Nineteenth Psalm: "The heavens declare the glory of God: the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech: night after night they display knowledge." --Psalm 19:1-2.
Oh, to be a child at heart, and always glory in God's nature. Learn from children how to have fun in small things whenever you can, and enjoy contentment in God's gifts. Like silver maple helicopters.

KBRD in Newcastle, OK

KBRD in Newcastle

Are not five sparrows sold for two cents? And yet not one of them is forgotten before God—Luke 12:6.

              I heard my favorite radio station the other day. I think I’m going to let my Sirius XM expire on the car, as much as we enjoy Willie’s Roadhouse, Bluegrass, Jazz and The Bridge. This station plays what I like.

I was watching my grandson play out under the walnut tree when I heard him. Perched high atop a ragged old elm, the mockingbird sang his songs of joy. All the hits, all the time. Station KBRD in Newcastle.

I pointed Aodan to the sky where the mockingbird sang. “Listen!” I said, “Hear what he’s saying!” As we listened, he opened up his playlist:

Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? —Matthew 6:26

Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father . . . Therefore do not fear; you are of more value than many sparrows.” —Matthew 10:29, 31.

The mockingbird’s playlist sounded so much better than the media stations we all listen to: all the bad news that we can find across the globe, (and for us Oldies fans), all the Jim Croce bar fight songs he ever wrote, all the time. It’s enough to incite a spirit of depression. Much better the mockingbird’s song selection.

God takes care of the birds. And bird-brained humans, as well. Listen to God’s feathered choir.

When I lived in Lawton I joined the early walkers at the mall. I’d try not to get run over by the 60-somethings who walked briskly past the stores. It was a challenge, but I enjoyed my time there and saw many interesting people. One particular individual has stayed in my memory. He was a black man, a soldier from Ft Sill wearing his bdu’s, walking toward me. He was a sergeant I supposed, and was muscular and confident in his stride. He wore an infectious grin as he walked.  His morning workout was a little more intensive than mine: swinging from his outstretched arm, clinging to his biceps, his two-year-old little girl exchanged smiles with him as they passed me. I gave them one of mine: my day was made by the sight of a daughter and a dad looking into each other’s eyes and giggling as they walked.

I’d like to think that little girl has enjoyed a successful life. The angry girls I have seen in my counseling practice, struggling with life often seemed to harbor anger toward their fathers. They often referred to their dads by less than complimentary epithets. I’m certain none of them ever got to swing from daddy’s arms on a morning walk. Dads and daughters are designed to enjoy a strong bond together. H. Norman Wright in his 1993 book Always Daddy’s Girl says the connection is absolutely magical. When it is broken by abuse or absence the result is much pain and difficulty in adjusting to life. Forming healthy relationships with the opposite sex will likewise prove challenging.

A daughter often compares her boyfriends to her dad. Her father serves as her male role model and a healthy one can help keep herself for her future husband. She will be better able to resist a young man’s improper advances. Dads whose child rearing style is a gentle authoritative, (Because I love you and I’m your father, that’s why.) rather than a dictatorial authoritarian (Do what I say or else!) approach or a permissive style help their daughters recognize and develop healthy boundaries. They observe society’s limits and are respectful toward teachers and adult authority figures. Consequently, they tend to be happier children who often achieve their goals in life. Dads who practice a balanced style of parenting demonstrate it with appropriate affection and affirmation—like playing with their little girl while walking the mall. Their children sometimes become High school valedictorians.

Lacking the biceps for my Army Sergeant’s parenting style, I used wheelbarrows. They worked pretty well, too.