Have you ever seen a bunch of birds together? Maybe you saw a flock of geese flying in a V-shaped formation. Or perhaps you have heard the loud chorusing of a flock of red-winged blackbirds, or seen a flock of starlings over a field that looked like a cloud of birds. Many birds stay together in groups called flocks.
This week I saw a flock of swallows. Swallows are small birds that eat insects. There are many kinds of swallows. Where I live, we have cliff swallows, barn swallows, and tree swallows. Why not research to see if any swallows live near you?
The flock I was watching had hundreds of swallows. What were they doing together? Enjoying breakfast at the lake! Swallows are aerial insectivores, which means they eat insects while flying. I watched as the swallows perched high up on an electrical line, then swooped down together to collect insects, returned to the wire, and repeated this feeding frenzy time and again.
The weather conditions were right for hatching, and many insects were coming up out of the water, which the swallows were eager to…well…swallow up! I can only imagine the birds were very pleased to have found such an abundance of insects.
Do you know what the word “abundance” means? Abundance means having more than enough. At the lake, God provided more than enough insects for the swallows. God also provides abundantly for us, his children. He blesses us beyond what we can ask or imagine. Jesus came to give us an abundant life, as we read in John 10:10 (ESV), “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
God blesses us abundantly because he loves us and so that we can also bless others. How has God blessed you this week? How can you share his love and provision with someone else?
