Happy Day! (And Happy New Year, too!)

The holiday celebrations are over and this morning I took down our few Christmas decorations and lights that adorned our house from mid-December. Chores were checked off before allowing myself the luxury of coming out to the Sunshine Shed. It was a BUSY month…as we had company for a week, an Eck-side-of-the-family Christmas Eve brunch with 20+ in attendance, and then we drove 9 hours to and from Idaho WITH our kitties to celebrate Christmas and New Year’s with the Metcalf gang. But now we are home. And it’s a Happy Day!

While we were driving home from Idaho I received a text from the husband (Kent) of my high school buddy Robin. They were going to “be in town” (from east of Blue River…about an hour away) the next day and he wondered if we’d join him in surprising Robin for her birthday by going out to dinner together! Sure! So, in lieu of buying a card, I had an excuse to escape to the Sunshine Shed to paint one…AFTER unpacking!

Because my friend’s name is Robin, I thought I’d paint one (the bird!) on a card. I googled around and found a robin watercolor YouTube tutorial by Shikha Sharma Art. (FYI, it’s “a thing” that when you paint from a tutorial, you are supposed to give credit to the artist…so, rule follower that I am, I’ll be doing that when I post a tutorial painting.) At any rate, I had fun hanging out in the shed, mixing colors, and putting the tutorial on MANY repeats. Shikha Sharma’s art is much better than mine (as it should as she’s the tutor, I’m the student), but I mixed my own colors, practiced strokes, used masking fluid, the works. And…ta-dah…here’s the result:

Tony came out to visit me towards the end of my painting process. “What are you working on?” “A card for Robin! Look!” Tony: “What kind of bird is it?” (What? Um, I was painting a card for ROBIN from a ROBIN tutorial. I know it wasn’t perfect, but had more than a slight resemblance!) I said, “What kind of bird do you think it is?” Tony: “I don’t know… maybe a towee?” I flashed a baffled look, “Babe, it’s a ROBIN…for ROBIN!” He replied, “Well, a robin is longer in the body, has more of a neck, blah, blah, blah.” I then showed him the tutorial pic. “That doesn’t look like a robin, either!” We both laughed. That’s what I get from a realist and a bird watcher!! He was right. See the robin pics below. But, hey, he does need to allow for a little artist’s interpretation and license! Especially when you’re going for “cute” rather than “accuracy!”

Robin was thrilled with her little card, and that thrilled me. We had a great dinner with great friends. And, today, I’m back in my Sunshine Shed reflecting on the words I wrote on her card, “Happy Day.” If I was to do another Happy Day card (not for Robin!) I might feature a sparrow. Yes, a simple little brown song sparrow.

Not flashy with the bright red breast of a robin, nor crowned like a cobalt Stellar Jay, nor stunning like a cardinal that boasts such scarlet that it takes your breath away; but rather a humble little brown speckled bird that SINGS! Maybe for my next “Happy Day” card I’ll try to paint a sparrow, which represents, to me, God’s care…and the deepest source of my happiness.

What kind of bird, am I, I wondered. Hmmm….for much of my adult working life, I think I was subconsciously trying to keep up with the cardinals! But maybe I was more like a tropical parrot. HA! Talkative, colorful and bright, always chattering (squawking?) and busy doing…doing…and doing! But, in these later years, I am satisfied in being a simple, brown/gray flecked nondescript “mature” woman wearing a sweatshirt and jeans, who doesn’t attract attention through work, wit, accomplishments, or even “good deeds,” but who sings the melody of God’s care for the past 67 years! Sparrow it is!

Jesus points out in Matthew 6:26, “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?” Then, in Matthew 10:29-31, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”

Those words make me sing of my Redeemer. He cares for me in a way that no one else on earth does, even though I am so blessed with much love in my life. But God’s love carries me, forgives me, provides for me, satisfies me. His love fills the occasional empty ache in my heart that reminds me that the things of this earth don’t eternally satisfy.

As we face 2024 in light of current wars, crime, economic woes and worries, political divisions, and perhaps personal concerns of financial strain, serious health issues or relationship frailties, one might ask, how can you really be happy?

One of my favorite hymns is “His Eye is on the Sparrow.” The tune is “old fashioned” so the song isn’t likely on the Sunday playlist of most churches. Ah, but the LYRICS written almost 120 years ago still ring true to me today:

What isn’t shown above is the chorus that has become the hallmark of the song. It popped into my mind the minute I typed the words, “Happy Day.” (And yes, I started singing in my thin, throaty voice all by my little happy self in my Sunshine Shed!)

I sing because I’m happy, I sing because I’m free. His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

His Eye is on the Sparrow, Civilla D Martin, 1905

Civilla Martin, who wrote the lyrics, said of her inspiration to write the song based on the scriptures:

Early in the spring of 1905, my husband and I were sojourning in Elmira, New York. We contracted a deep friendship for a couple by the name of Mr. and Mrs. Doolittle—true saints of God. Mrs. Doolittle had been bedridden for nigh twenty years. Her husband was an incurable cripple who had to propel himself to and from his business in a wheel chair. Despite their afflictions, they lived happy Christian lives, bringing inspiration and comfort to all who knew them. One day while we were visiting with the Doolittles, my husband commented on their bright hopefulness and asked them for the secret of it. Mrs. Doolittle’s reply was simple: “His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.” The beauty of this simple expression of boundless faith gripped the hearts and fired the imagination of Dr. Martin and me. The hymn “His Eye Is on the Sparrow” was the outcome of that experience.

Vincent D. Homan (2013). A Foot in Two Worlds: A Pastor’s Journey From Grief to Hope. WestBow Press. p. 112. ISBN 978-1449774813.

So, I end this New Year’s blog entry with a wish for a truly HAPPY NEW YEAR and a HAPPY DAY that you can sing about…because you know He watches YOU!

PS If you want to hear a GREAT version of His Eye is on the Sparrow give this a listen…by a group called, Sounds Like Reign.

PPS…If so inclined, please leave a comment or two! For instance, do you relate to birds? What’s your favorite? What’s one of your favorite hymns and why?