The Fallen Nest

What a horrible week, Ella thought as she dropped her school bag on the table. First I failed my science test, then Aria got mad at me and now she won't talk to me. Just then Mom's voice drifted in from the back porch. "Ella, come look! A bird's making a nest in our yard." Ella walked out and saw a bird gathering twigs on the branch of an old oak tree. "Mom, that tree's no good! It's dying, isn't it? Almost all of its leaves have fallen off!" She called to the bird. "Make your nest in the apple tree!" It ignored her. Mom laughed. "It's no use. It's made up its mind to nest there." That night, the wind howled outside Ella's window, and rain fell down in great torrents. When Ella looked out the window the next morning, she saw the branch from the oak tree lying flat on the ground with bits of straw and twigs scattered around it. "Mom, the bird's nest fell down!" she cried. "Poor bird! What will it do now?" "I'm sure it will build another one," said Mom. Ella watched the bird fly around the fallen branch, twittering and chirping. Then it began to collect twigs and straw, and to Ella's surprise, flew across to the apple tree. "Well! I guess it's a good thing the nest fell down before it had eggs in it. Now the bird will have a home with lots of leafy branches for protection from rain and wind." Mom nodded. "It reminds me of a story Jesus told about a man who built his house on rock and another who built his on sand. When the storms came, the house on sand fell--just like that nest. But the one built on rock held firm. The Bible tells us Jesus is the Rock. When we build our lives on Him by trusting Him as our Savior, we can stand firm in life's storms knowing He is with us and promises to work everything out for our good." Ella smiled as she watched the bird rebuild its nest in the apple tree. I'm glad I've built my life on Jesus, she thought, and that He will help me through the bad week I'm having. –Tanya Ferdinandusz