Cardinal

As I was walking with Bailey this morning, I saw a cardinal sitting on a birdhouse, and it made me think of my mother. Mom's favorite color was red, and she loved cardinals. One day when she was sick from the chemotherapy that was supposed to kill the cancer before the cancer killed her, she read the following passage in her devotions:

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

- Matthew 10:28-32

Just after she read that, she looked out the family room window and there was a bright red cardinal. What it meant to her was that not only did God see her and care about what she was experiencing, he saw her as a beautiful bright red cardinal. Not an ordinary sparrow.

I always remember that when I see cardinals, and I think I always will.