"And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus." -- Philippians 4:19

 By Harrison Woodard

    A long time ago there was a flock of sparrows. They lived near a small farming village in Norway.

    Just before Christmas it started snowing. For two days the blizzard raged covering everything and making it impossible for the birds to leave their tree.

  The flock began to worry.

   "What are we going to do? If the snow continues, we will never find anything to eat," said Markus.

  "Maybe we should have flown south with the other birds," said Lina.

  "We have always survived the winter here. We will survive this one as well," said Jonas one of the older sparrows.

  Mette listened to the older birds. If Jonas was not worried, she wouldn't worry either. She found a warm spot and fell asleep.

  "I don't understand. The weather has never been this bad for so long. I don't know if we will make it," said Jonas.

  Now that Jonas was starting to worry, even Mette was concerned. Before she went to bed she asked God for help.

  "Dear God, I know you will provide all we need. Thank you for protecting us," prayed Mette.

  The next day the birds peered out at the raging storm. It was a dismal sight. The snow and the wind made it impossible to fly anywhere.

  "Jonas, what will we do?" asked Markus.

  "Will the storm ever end?" asked Lina.

  "I think we are in trouble. Even if the storm ends, it may be weeks before we can find any food. The snow will be too deep.  It will cover everything," said Jonas.

  All the birds were very sad. There didn't seem to be any hope.

  Mette listened to everything the other birds said. As the youngest of her flock, she rarely would say anything. But she knew she had to say something.

  "Don't you believe God will take care of us?" asked Mette. "He has always given us everything we needed. Why wouldn't He keep His promise now?"

  The other birds admired Mette's faith, but they saw the snow and heard the howling wind and saw no way God could save them.

  "Mette, God has many things He has to do. He can't always save us. Sometimes it is up to us to save ourselves," said Jonas.

  The other birds agreed. 

  Mette lay down and thought about what Jonas said.

  "God, that just doesn't make any sense," she prayed softly. "I know that you will supply everything we need. I am going to trust you and not the other sparrows."

  The next day was Christmas Eve. The weather outside was the worst it had ever been. The snow was coming down so hard that you couldn't see more than a couple of feet. There was absolutely no way the flock could leave their tree.

  The sparrows gathered together to discuss their options.

   "I don't think I can last another day," said Markus. "I'm very hungry."

  "Me too," added Lina.

  "I just don't know what to do," said Jonas.

  They had lost all hope.

   In the village came the faint sound of Church bells. The sparrows listened to the music. It was very pretty and brought a brief moment of relief to their despair.

    After the bells stopped, the birds sat in silence.

   After a long pause, Mette spoke,  "Did you hear the bells? This is Christmas Eve. The night God gave His Son. If He is willing to give His own son, He will certainly provide our food."

  The other sparrows wanted to believe, but all they could see was the raging blizzard. They saw no way that God could provide anything for them.

   "Markus, don't you believe?" asked Mette.

   Markus thought for a second, "I believe I do."

   That night, Mette bowed her head and prayed, "God, thank you for giving Jesus to the world. I know that you love my flock and will provide everything we need."

   Mette found a warm spot in the tree and fell asleep.

   It was another long and cold night.

   The next morning, Markus was the first to wake up. He felt the warm sun on his feathers and took off on a short flight to stretch his wings.

  The snow had stopped and it was a sunny Christmas morning. Markus flew over the village and was surprised by what he saw. He immediately flew back to the tree.

  "Mette! Wake Up! It's a miracle!" shouted Markus. "Everyone, come quickly,"

  Soon the whole flock was following Markus toward the village.