Welcome to The Swallow's Home!

There is a place of shelter for you. Come find rest and healing in the arms of Jesus as you learn to abide in Him.

In the past month, God has been working on my heart and calling me to step out anew and share His message with the world. And actually, I know He’s been working on me much longer than that in preparation even if I didn’t see it.

However, in the past, I would take the call and rush forward with it on my own, in my own strength, but I would become overwhelmed and discouraged every single time, which led to giving up. I let the predators swoop in. The doubts and uncertainties took over. I didn’t abide in Jesus for protection and guidance.

The message was simple this time…wait on the Lord.

Abide in Him—and He will give me strength. He will give me the words to say. He will produce good fruit. The same message kept returning to me in different ways through different things. So I waited. I’ve spent much time in His Word and in prayer. And He confirmed.

Today was the day to build The Swallow’s Home for you.

When I was much younger and having a very hard time, I sat in a car under the carport staring up into the sky ahead while praying my heart out to God. I wanted to feel like He was with me but I couldn’t at that time.

I was discouraged and needing comfort. I was hurting and needed healing. I was alone.

I needed a sign, something I could see, to grasp onto and renew my faith. The entire time I sat there I had not seen a single bird. So, be it silly or not, in my desperation I asked God to let a bird fly across the sky to show me He was with me.

God doesn’t always answer in the way we expect. But He heard my prayer.

After I whispered my request to Him, with my cheeks wet with tears, He immediately answered. He gave me not just one bird—but an entire flock of birds flew across the sky in front of me. He renewed my faith in that moment. He gave me hope. I knew He was with me and He heard me. I was not alone.

Many years later, God worked directly in my life, lining up things in a perfect way following some heartache. After many years of waiting, my husband and I were finally able to start our family. But we suffered the loss of a baby very early on in pregnancy. It was discouraging and I questioned why, when everything else pointed to the perfect timing. I kept silent about it and my heart ached with the feeling of loneliness yet again.

Sometime after that while I nursed my broken heart, a swallow built her mud nest under the eaves of our front porch. I watched in wonder as she worked tirelessly, preparing a safe place for her future offspring. I took photos and videos as I watched her work. She made so many trips carrying mud and other materials to build little by little.

She finally finished and laid her eggs. Soon, a new generation of baby swallows hatched and she fed them faithfully, with her mate staying by her side. Over the days and weeks, her babies grew and flew off on their own, one by one, going away to start their own adventure and eventually produce offspring of their own too.

During this process of watching the swallow, I found out I was pregnant again. Looking back through the timing, I realized I had conceived while the swallow was building her nest.

While I was in the waiting, nursing a broken heart, and feeling so lonely, God was already answering my prayer and preparing me for what was to come.

Our child is our biggest blessing, a true gift from God. His plans are greater than our own. In that season of waiting and hurting, I grew more dependent on Him and He worked on healing me. And even in the blessing of motherhood, He is still working on me when times get tough.

Some of us go through life, flittering here and there, chasing after that which sustains us day-to-day, just like a swallow chasing insects mid-flight. They rarely glide. Instead, they beat their wings in bursts so they can make quick, tight turns and dives to hunt insects for their meals.

But there are dangers in the air—the predators that would snatch the swallow before the swallow gets its own meal. Its speed and agility during flight help it evade predators in the air, but it also needs a safe place to rest.

So the swallow builds a nest out of mud under the safety of a covering and there it finds rest, a home where it produces offspring. It mates for life and they return year after year to the safety of that nest even after migrating up to 18,500 miles roundtrip. They are very social birds and flock together, fiercely protecting their nests by dive-bombing predators that come too close.

Swallows are culturally known as messages of hope and renewal…new beginnings…returning home…transformation.

I have always had a special place in my heart for those who are hurting. We’ve all been hurt in some way during our lives, some more than others. Trauma affects us deeply and we need healing. We need encouragement and support from other believers.

We need safe shelter from the storms and the predators so we can live out our calling from the Lord.

God placed this ministry on my heart to help you find that safe shelter in Him. I don’t have all the answers, but I know the One who does, and I hope to encourage you and help you abide in Him.

My prayer is that by abiding in Him and flocking together, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we will be able to withstand the attacks of the enemy and flourish for the glory of God.

God is preparing you for something meaningful. He is working in your heart even if you don’t realize it yet. He wants you to find rest in Him. He wants to heal all your wounds and scars.

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 NASB1995

Find your home in the arms of Jesus. Abide, dwell—remain in Him. He will protect you, He will provide rest and healing for your soul, and He will produce good and lasting fruit in you that will carry on His message to the lost world.

How lovely are Your dwelling places,
O Lord of hosts!

My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the Lord;
My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.

The bird also has found a house,
And the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young,
Even Your altars, O Lord of hosts,
My King and my God.

How blessed are those who dwell in Your house!
They are ever praising You. Selah.

Psalm 84:1-4 NASB1995

Join us at The Swallow’s Home as a part of our flock. My prayer is that you will find rest and healing in the arms of Jesus.

---

Thanks for reading The Swallow's Home! Please share and invite others to join our flock. We are stronger together.