One of my all-time favorite movies is Finding Forrester – where Sean Connery plays a reclusive writer who becomes a reluctant mentor to a talented young protégé. While passing along words of wisdom about writing, Connery’s character also relays some practical advice regarding matters of the heart, saying that the key to wooing the object of one’s affection is “an unexpected gift at an unexpected time.”

Well, I feel like God does that for me all the time! Just yesterday, I was sitting outside in the early evening hours, battling a bit of a melancholy mood, when what should show up but a bird I’d never seen before! A Bay-breasted Warbler! Now, call it coincidence if you’d like, but I’m pretty sure it was an unexpected gift from a God who continually reminds me in the sweetest of ways that He sees me and knows me and loves me.

Now, this gift did play a little hard to get! He darted in and out among the leaves, carefully looking for bugs to munch, never sitting still for long. The sunlight that filtered through the nooks and crannies of the leaves did little to help the picture taking process! But every now and then he would pop out and pause just long enough to get a picture or two.

Isn’t he an absolute head-turner? Just his presence lifted my spirits immensely. Beauty really is good for the soul!

Ah – “an unexpected gift at an unexpected time” – who can argue with such sound advice?