阅读经文 

大草原上的地平线绵延舒展，土地松软，对于任何一个在其中开阔的天空下长大的人来说，搬到城市后都可能会感到不适应。混凝土、高层建筑和不断的喧嚣会让人迷失方向。这就是我几十年前搬到不列颠哥伦比亚省温哥华时的经历。虽然温哥华是一个美丽的城市，但一开始我对它并不熟悉，也不觉得亲切。我经常低着头走路，一心想知道如何与一个与家迥异的地方建立起新联系。

后来有一天，“你们看……飞鸟”这句话在我脑海中闪现，这对我来说成了一个不同寻常的意念。从我的角度来看，鸟类还算友好，但有好多鸟我甚至都叫不上名字。然而，我突然想起耶稣曾说过，“你们看……飞鸟”——我把它当作一个神圣的邀请，抬起双眼。当我开始观看时，我发现各种各样的鸟到处都是，每个季节都有——哪怕是在城市里。这极大地改变了我的视角。

也许你觉得离家很远，或者好像你不属于你现在所处的地方。神会邀请你抬起双眼，好使你注意到祂在你周围处境中的工作和祂在你生活中的供应。你愿意来把鸟类作为神创造的重要组成部分来思想，并和我一起在祂面前战栗敬畏吗?

For anyone who has grown up under the wide-open skies of a prairie, where the horizons are far and wide and the ground is soft, it can be quite a shock to move to the city. The concrete, high-rises, and constant bustle can be disorienting. That was my experience a couple of decades ago when I moved to Vancouver, British Columbia. Though Vancouver is a beautiful city, it wasn't familiar or welcoming to me at first. I often walked with a downward gaze, wondering how to connect with a place that didn't feel like home.

Then one day the phrase "Look at the birds" entered my mind, and that was an unusual idea for me. From my perspective, birds were okay, but I didn't know how to identify many of them. Yet I suddenly remembered that Jesus had said, "Look at the birds"—and I took it as a holy invitation to lift my eyes up. As I began paying attention, I saw that birds of all kinds were everywhere, in every season—even in the city! It shifted my perspective dramatically.

Perhaps you feel far from home, or as if you don't belong in the place where you are now. Could God be inviting you to lift up your eyes so that you can take note of his work around you and his provisions in life? Will you join me in being filled with wonder as we reflect on birds as an important part of his creation?