"And they shall be Mine, saith the Lord of hosts,
in that day when I make up My Jewels."
(Malachi 3:17)
To My Dear Grandchildren,
The Barn Swallow
One of the most amazing creatures God has created is the Barn Swallow. Perhaps you have seen Barn Swallows around your yard. They are found throughout most of the world. And they are most easily identified by their deeply forked tail.
Barn Swallows are especially created for flying and they are some of the most graceful birds in the sky. The Holy Spirit mentions this in Proverbs 26:2. "As the bird by wandering, as the swallows by flying, so the curse causeless shall not come."
One of the reasons God has given the Barn Swallow the ability to fly so well is so it can catch insects. This bird has a wide, gaping mouth that stretches from ear to ear. And it has been estimated that one Swallow will eat up to 2000 insects a day. If you don't like getting bitten by mosquitoes, Barn Swallows are good birds to have around.
As you can guess by their name, Barn Swallows like to nest in barns. They build their nests out of mud, mixed with saliva. The nests are plastered along the rafters inside the barn. They can hold as many as five little chicks.
The Holy Spirit mentions another place where a Swallow can build a nest, which is even better than a barn. "Yea, the sparrow has found an house and THE SWALLOW a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even THINE ALTARS, O Lord of hosts, my King, and my God." Psalm 84:3.
So years ago swallows were permitted to nest in the temple of God. What a nice place to raise little ones - on the altar of the Lord. This is what your parents are doing for you. They are raising you to know your Saviour as you study Scripture.
In August, the Barn Swallows get ready to migrate South. By early September, they have left our barn and are headed South, many of them to Brazil. And now we have an amazing thing. Some of these birds have been banded before they left to migrate South. And even though the winter home of the Barn Swallow is some 6,00 miles away from where they nested, many of them will come back to that same barn the following Spring. This power of navigation, which God has given to the Barn Swallow, is beyond human comprehension. What a marvelous compass these Barn Swallows have, so accurately set that they can pinpoint a barn 6,000 miles away!
But there is more! There is also the matter of timing. I have kept records of when the first Barn Swallow returns to our barn here at Meadow Grass Memories Farm. And it is amazing how often they come back within a few days of when they had come back in previous years. Often they come back on the very same day of the year.
Not surprising, the Holy Spirit also makes mention of this amazing happening in Scripture: "Yea, the stork in the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the dove and the crane and the SWALLOW observe the time of their coming; but My people know not the judgment of the Lord," Jeremiah 8:7. By following God's appointed times, these little birds usher in the pleasant spring season. Winter's back has been broken.
Barn Swallows are a real blessing from the Lord. They show the glory of God in the way they live.
We should strive to do likewise.
Love,
Grandpa
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