To recap: “The Lord has been teaching me about rest and stillness for a long time, bringing it to my attention before I even realized that’s what He was trying to teach me. … Then, in August, I went to South Carolina to visit my family and we saw the purple martins returning to their nests on Bomb Island. And boy did the Lord begin speaking to me!” 

If you haven’t read Part 1 of my blog about rest, titled Be Still, go check it out!

Purple Martins

I am from a small town in South Carolina near Lake Murray. I grew up five minutes from the lake, and it is one of my absolute favorite places to be. It is a place that refreshes my soul and brings me great joy. Each summer, purple martins, which are a type of bird, nest on Bomb Island on Lake Murray. It is a very popular attraction, even for locals like my family. We go out on our boat at least once every summer right before sunset to watch the purple martins return to their nests. It is quite the sight to see! 

A New Perspective

Last summer, while I was on the boat with my parents watching the purple martins flock in, the Lord began speaking to me about rest. I have seen this sight many, many times, but it hit me in a different way that particular evening. If you read one of my past blogs, Don’t Return, you know the Lord has been using birds to teach me about freedom. (If you haven’t read it yet, I highly encourage you to!) That evening on the lake, He continued to use birds as a metaphor, but this time it was to teach me about rest. As I watched the birds return to their nests, one after the other after the other, I realized that even though they fly free during the day, they always return to their nest at the end of the day. They have to have a place to stop and recharge. They have to rest in order to be truly free. 

Digging Deeper

The Lord spoke to me that night through those purple martins. He reminded me that I am no different. Yes, I am free to fly; I am not caged! But, I also have to rest. I have to take time to stop and recharge just as the purple martins do. 

That lesson wouldn’t leave me. It kept coming to mind, and I decided to dig deeper into the life of the purple martins. While I see them every year, I realized I don’t actually know much about them. So, I began to do a little research. What I found about their life as a whole  just added onto what the Lord had taught me earlier that summer under the sunset. 

The Journey

Purple martins, like many other birds, migrate from place to place. While in North America, they build nests so that they can roost and lay eggs. One of those places is on Bomb Island in South Carolina, although no one is sure why so many of them roost there during the summer. During this time they also sing to attract other martins. 

I learned so much from just my research about the purple martins during their season of rest:

1. The first thing I learned was that they have an entire season dedicated to roosting, which is defined as “a place where birds regularly settle or congregate to rest…” (emphasis mine). 
2. The second thing I learned was that their rest is done with other martins; it isn’t something they do alone. I’m not saying that as a human I always have to rest with other people, but I do think it is important to have people in our lives that hold us accountable to resting and help us through life. 
3. The third thing I learned was that it is during their season of rest that they lay eggs. Then, at the end of the summer, after they migrate back to South America, they use that next season to molt old feathers, get rid of parasites, and grow new feathers. Y’all!!! Because they rest, they are able to procreate and become a better version of themselves. They can be productive and free! 

Birds are free, flying through the air, flitting from place to place. But they have to rest too. Humans are no different. I am no different! Part of living in freedom is learning to rest. Learning to take an hour, a day, a week, even a season to rest if I need it. Learning to rest so that I am able to thrive in life and not just survive.

May I learn from the purple martins, today and everyday, and learn to rest well so I can live well.

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