Who is the animal friend we will meet today? In the winter he comes flitting to snatch a sunflower seed from our feeder, and the summer days are filled with his whistles from the tree branches. Dressed in gray and white with a black chin and cap, I’m sure you must have met him,

The Cheery Chickadee: Joy

Hear him out the window? “Yes, yes! Joy, joy! Cheeri-ly-ly-ly!” he sings. Is he happy because he doesn’t have to work? Not at all! In fact, the busier he is, the more I hear him sing. There he flies to a branch where his little black bill gets to work digging out grubs—one, two, three. “Cheeri-ly-ly-ly!” he calls to Mrs. Chickadee, who is looking at the underside of a leaf for a spider. “Yes, yes, yes, cheeri-ly-ly,” she chirps and hurries to take the baby birds a bite to eat. They don’t seem to be complaining or worrying at all, do they?

I think we can learn a lesson from our little feathered friends. God gave the birds voices to sing, and He gave you and I one, too. Just like we listen to the birds’ cheerful voices, God listens to ours. Do you think it makes Him happy when we are making a joyful noise instead of a complaining or arguing one? I think so. When there’s work to do and we don’t have time to play, remember to sing a cheerful song. Even work is fun when we are happy!

The little chickadee is God’s reminder to us to be joyful. Joy in the Lord is our strength, the Bible says. How? It can give us a smile to keep going. It reminds us of God’s love and care and all the good things He’s done. And isn’t He able to help us and give us strength when things are hard? Sing, “Yes, yes, yes! Cheeri-ly-ly!” and remember God will help you to face today with a smile.