Scripture: Psalm 102:7 – “I lie awake; I am like a lonely bird on the housetop.” (NRSVue)
The Psalms are the beating heart of the Bible. Other parts tell grand stories, powerful testimonies, and divine truths, but the Psalms portray the emotions better than any other portion. There are psalms of thanksgiving, psalms of praise, and psalms of confession. But often the most meaningful are those which express suffering and beg for help.
One such psalm is Psalm 102. I think this is a good psalm to consider on yet another beautiful spring day. At my house, flowers are blooming, birds fly around seeking worms, rabbits nibble the grass at dawn and dusk, deer look up in distant fields, and crows cackle in the trees. Luckily, there are no woodpeckers trying to get into my bedroom windows, so far. But sometimes it is in the brightest times that we feel most alone.
Psalm 102 gives many examples of barrenness: life fading away like smoke, withered grass, dry and empty deserts. But I am moved by the image of a solitary bird on a housetop. Birds can be solitary, especially when they are hunting or foraging, but there is something about the bird in the psalm that moves my heart to consider that loneliness that I think infects us all at some point, even on the most beautiful of spring days.
Last Sunday, we had a wonderful brunch at our church. Several of our friends from far away arrived to celebrate with us. It was a powerful reminder of how much we mean to each other and how powerful the “ties that bind” can be. I felt the love in the room and was delighted to share my happiness with others. It was a springtime moment of life and joy.
But there have been other such gatherings in life just as full of jollity in which I felt completely alone. I felt different and rejected, even though objectively neither of these things were true. There were wonderful things around me, but I could not see them. I was that lonely bird in the beauty of a spring morning.
Like most psalms of lament, the Psalm 102 turns to praise the God who should be helping them. God is the one who is strong enough to pull them out of their afflictions and despair. When you are full of loneliness, whether based on illness or circumstance or depression, remember that are lonely as you feel, God is always with you. God is the one who answers prayers and helps you see the good things in life, so that you may be moved to thanksgiving and hope. Prayer is what pulls me out of my occasional funks. Listen to God’s voices in the wind and the birdsong and find that beauty again.
Prayer: God of spring mornings and chilly rains, be with me always and hear my prayer. Amen.
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