
Photo ©2025 by Robert Howson
Tuesday, December 9, 2025
As a child, intent on darkening in those squares next to the bird’s name on my checklist, I felt frustrated. Frustrated that I was unable to find a Lincoln’s Sparrow, even though it was supposed to reside in the region where I lived. I looked over many Song Sparrows, trying to change them into the desired species which they so closely resembled on the pages of my Peterson’s Field Guide. I was certain that one of those common birds just must be a Lincoln’s. I finally did find my bird, and today the distinction between the two species is fairly obvious due to my exposure and familiarity with both.
But that doesn’t mean there still aren’t surprises under those feathers. I’m now accustomed to seeing them among the brambles and thickets during the wintertime near home. If I wish to see them during nesting season I need to go to higher elevations where I can find them among the alders and willows in moist areas. But that’s not where I was in April. I was in Texas and the Lincoln’s Sparrows were not where they were supposed to be. They were feeding on the ground in what appeared to me to be dry, inhospitable surroundings, very much unlike the setting in which I was accustomed to seeing them.
That same uneasiness comes on me when I read questions like this: How can we be sure we will be able to stand faithful during times of oppression? Uneasiness, because I don’t know exactly how I will react since I’ve never experienced that identical scenario before. Paul’s approach to this question is the best I can do. Philippians 1:20 states it this way: “My eager expectation and hope is that I will not be ashamed about anything, but that now as always, with all courage, Christ will be highly honored in my body, whether by life or by death.” (CSB) The same rule for identifying sparrows applies equally well to life experience. Faithful attention to details now greatly increases the chance of being successful in different circumstances.






