The Christmas Redbird

    It wouldn’t be Christmas without a redbird sighting. Every year redbirds roost throughout my home because they hold a special meaning during the holidays.

            I didn’t always know what they symbolized, but after seeing redbird ornaments, plates, crosses, salt and pepper shakers and towels at the stores, I researched the meaning of the redbird. In fact, I’m not the only one who is curious about the crimson bird.  It is one of the most searched subjects on the Pearls of Promise website.

            So here is the meaning: “The red bird, or red cardinal, specifically, has become a symbol of beauty and warmth of the holiday season.  A glimpse of this brilliant bird brings cheer, hope and inspiration on a gray, wintry day.  As nature’s reminder for us to focus on our faith, the cardinal’s scarlet plumage represents the blood of Christ shed for the redemption of mankind.”

          Once I understood what the redbird actually symbolized, I never looked at it the same again.

            I believe God uses the redbird to provide comfort to people when they are mourning. A woman I used to work with shared with me how a redbird sat on the window sill of her mother’s hospice room the final week of her life. A man at church said his wife loved redbirds and after she died, his family experienced numerous redbird sightings, one of those times occurred as the entire family sat together on vacation in Hawaii.  

            A few years ago at a church in Florida, I gave a Christmas message on the redbird and after the talk was done, there was a long line of people waiting to share their redbird stories with me.

            There’s something about the redbird.

            So in honor of this beautiful bird the Lord created, I wrote a poem a few years ago from the redbird’s point of view.  This Christmas we can all provide the gift redbirds bring.

Remember the Redbird

If you were a redbird,

where would you go?

To the house on the corner

with the blanket of snow?

Or would you find the family

who needs a comforting sight,

Where hope is waning,

And they’re tired of the fight.

If you were a redbird,

 would you visit the home

Of the ill and the dying,

 of the ones who are alone?

If you were a redbird,

your beautiful scarlet plume

Could remind one

Of the sacrifice Christ made and that he rose from the tomb.

The truth is we can all be redbirds,

and can do it with great ease,

Because Jesus said whatever you do for me,

you do for the least of these,

You can visit the hopeless, the ill and the dying,

And take time for the ones who are alone. 

You can contact a long lost friend

by just picking up the phone.

So remember the redbird and its message of love,

And share it with someone this Christmas

For it’s hope from above.

This Christmas, remember the redbird.

Do you have a redbird story? If so, share it with us on the Pearls website.