When All You've Got is NOTHING ~ Five Minute Friday

I've got nothing. Seriously. I wish I could write fast for five minutes and weave you a wonderful story to inspire you or a beautiful piece of poetry to leave you lost for words.

All I can say is I've made it to the end of the week and I'm about as empty as the blank screen before me.

I'm digging deep for something profound and I coming up gasping for air. I'm chasing after the wind; I feel it in my hair, I watch it dancing in the tall poplar trees out back, but I can't grab hold of it and pin it down.

I watch the birds soar high into those poplars and listen as they trill their songs. They are busy guarding their nests and caring for their hatchlings. They have not a care in the world. Except when something threatens their young. Then their songs turn to calls of alarm. They do exactly what they have been created to do. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Those birds can't keep harm from their nests. The wind can whip around those trees and destroy everything they have built. Predators are on the prowl. 

Some days it feels like life is falling apart faster than we can put back together again. Those were words my husband let slip this week as we walked just steps behind our own young children.

As hard as we try, we can't keep harm from our young. We call out in alarm. We gather them as best we can under our wings. But the winds of life destroy and can leave us feeling empty. Helpless. There is only so much we can do. Nothing more. Nothing less.

What we need on days like these, when everything seems empty and nothing seems possible, may not be the profound, but rather, the simple lesson we learn as we pay attention to the birds soaring high on the breeze.

"Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?"

"Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." {Matthew 6:26, 27, 34}

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It has been months since I joined in with the crowd at Five Minute Friday at Lisa-Jo's place. It couldn't have been a better day to have this prompt for it is exactly how I felt. I had about five false starts and finally fumbled out a few thoughts that took a few more than five minutes. 

This week the prompt is: Nothing

Officially, the rules are:

1. Write for 5 minutes
2. Link up at Lisa-Jo's  and invite others to join in.

3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community...