Montezuma Swamp

Birds I hadn’t seen before- that’s what I wanted to see! So, I looked through my birding book and found that about two hours away from home was a mysterious sounding place called the Montezuma Swamp. It’s a national wildlife refuge and an especially important place for migrating birds in the spring and fall. Just the place for me to find new birds!

Planning to make a day of it, I hooked my small camping trailer behind my car, and off I went. I passed three of New York’s Finger Lakes and went through several good-sized towns, and finally, I saw the sign- MONTEZUMA NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE. After driving half an hour slowly beside acres and acres and acres of cattails, I finally found the perfect place- a small parking lot next to a small shallow lake surrounded by… you guessed it- acres and acres and acres of cattails. To get past the visual distraction of the cattails, there was a birding observation tower to climb that looked out over the lake. Actually, the lake is called a pool, Tschache Pool (pronounced ‘shocky’).

The birds on the lake were a long ways from me, and even with my binoculars, I didn’t have any idea of what I was seeing. At last, a very elderly gentleman climbed the tower with his tripod and spotting scope, and he gave me a guided tour through his spotting scope of what I was looking at. The most exciting thing to see was four bald eagles! I was actually looking at real, live bald eagles! There was an adult eagle with its distinctive white head, and three of its offspring with their first year, all-over brown plumage. One of the huge juveniles took off and soared through the sky to my delight!

I was thinking about how I had to go to where the birds were, and especially to where the bald eagle was in order to see it. Because I was desperate enough to see new birds, I had to go to the Montezuma Swamp.

At the same time, I’ve been thinking about people who say that they don’t know about God- what He is like- but they want to know Him. In addition, I’ve been thinking about Christians who say that they just don’t seem to be able to live as Christ Jesus would want them to live because they feel defeated and spiritually powerless. These kinds of people say they are desperate for a deeper, more meaningful spiritual life. However, they are not alone. I’ve also been thinking about how I can get into a slump, and Christianity seems sort of ‘ho-hum’ to me. I know that isn’t right.

At those times, our actions show whether we are really desperate for more of God. Let’s think about it. If we want to buy some socks, Tylenol, and a CD, do we know where to go? Certainly! We go to WalMart. If we want to get a new car, do we know where to go? Certainly! We go to the car dealer in town. If we have an abscessed tooth, do we know where to go? Certainly! We go to the dentist. If we are out of bread, do we know where to go? Certainly! We go to the grocery store. Why then, when other people and I are spiritually hungry, are we mystified about where to go?

Jesus said, “ Man shall not live on bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4) Therefore, if we want to live spiritually- really live spiritually!- then we need to be feeding on the word of God. We need to go to the Bible and read it. Through God’s Word we see God clearly and hear his heartbeat of gracious mercy that He is bestowing upon mankind. Through God’s Word, we see who Jesus is and hear His promise to satisfy spiritual hunger.

If we are desperate for more of God, we need to look steadily and carefully at what we are reading in the Bible. Sometimes we even need a wiser and more spiritually mature person- one who eagerly studies the Bible himself or herself- to come alongside to point out and identify what we are reading. It’s just like the elderly man who identified the birds that I was seeing yesterday. I asked him why he kept coming back for so many years to look at the birds. He said there was always something new to see and learn. It’s that way with reading the Bible if we are desperate enough.

It’s simple to understand. Where do we go to see birds? To the Montezuma Swamp. Were do we go if we’re spiritually hungry? To the Bible!