Kyle Dresback

Dear Friends,

“Don’t be anxious.”

How many of us would say this to a friend with anxiety or recommend a therapist who gives this advice? “I’m sorry you feel anxious. Have you tried not being anxious?”

But not only does Paul offer this advice in today’s reading, Jesus himself does the same in his Sermon on the Mount. In both cases, though, the advice to “not be anxious” is not an isolated therapeutic tool, but a reminder of the larger story. “Don’t be anxious” is downstream from the central theological conviction that God is the good creator and ruler of the world and he loves his creation, including you.

During the pandemic I accidentally took up birding. We had just moved to Arizona when the world seemed to shut down overnight. Without knowing what else to do, I began taking walks. Long walks. I have never dealt with real anxiety but the isolation of living in a new place combined with feeling powerless in a suddenly uncertain and chaotic world was taking its toll. And for reasons I couldn’t explain, I started…noticing birds.

That sounds strange, even to me. But according to the National Audubon Society, I wasn’t the only one. In fact, according to my research, there have been two sizable upticks in birding in the US: one in 2019 and the other in 2008. Notice a trend?

I don’t know for sure why stressed-out people look at birds. But I do know that when we begin to feel that tug of anxiety, Jesus asks us to consider the birds and Paul asks us to pray out of a spirit of thanksgiving.

And I think they might just be saying the same thing.

It turns out that I’ve been surrounded my whole life by colorful flying objects, some of which make their way across the continent, perch in front of me and sing to me and somehow I never noticed or cared. It’s a miraculous world given to us by a loving and generous God and once in a while it’s birds that remind me to be grateful for it all.

But I get it. Not everyone is ready to hang binoculars around their necks and embrace their inner nerd in public. In the spirit of the Lenten season, though, maybe there’s space to be reminded of and grateful for God’s daily gifts, birds or otherwise.

In Christ,

—Kyle