“So don’t be afraid;
you are worth more than many sparrows.”
(Matthew 10:31 NIV)
I walked
into my house one Friday afternoon after playing Mah Jongg at the Greene County
Library. I joined the group out of curiosity, played several hands, and won one
hand. My husband, Jeff, asked me how I liked playing the game with a new group
of men and women. I told him I enjoyed it and looked forward to returning the
next week.
“I wonder
what Mah Jongg means in English,” I asked Jeff. He suggested I google
it. I was surprised to discover the words translated from Chinese into English
as “sparrow.” The definition continued to explain: “This name is widely
believed to come from the bird-like clacking sound the tiles make when
shuffled, which resembles the chattering of sparrows.”
There was
a God Sighting in this revelation. The well-known hymn, “His Eye is on
the Sparrow,” popped into my brain. The hymn was written by Civilla Durfee
Martin, a Canadian school and music teacher born in 1869.
While
traveling with her pastor husband in New York state, Civilla was inspired by a
crippled host’s faith. When asked of his hopefulness in the midst of suffering,
he replied, “His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.”
This hymn
was the outcome of that encounter. Civilla immediately mailed the words to the
famous Gospel composer, Charles Gabriel, who penned the music.
Mah Jongg
is a popular, ancient, challenging tile game that brings old and new friends
together. I wanted to learn how to play it so I could spend more time spreading
cheer and hope to all on my walk of life.
I will look for opportunities to learn new things on this journey with other sparrows. I hope you will, too!
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