Miss Johanna Timmer, departmental editor of Reformed Women Speak writes:

The following poem appeared in the November 1975 issue of The Presbyterian Guardian. With the permission of the Rev. John Mitchell, editor-in-chief (one of my colleagues at Philmont Christian High), I am reproducing it here. It was written by Mrs. Ellen Obed when she was living in Nova Scotia, “where winter comes early and the snow piles deep. Her husband‘s name is Enoch, and he is an Eskimo. They have a little daughter named Keturah.”

I thoroughly enjoy this delightful poem and the author‘s applicatory comment. I hope you do. This is a sweet poem for old and young to memorize.

CHICKADEE

“Chickadee, chickadee Upside, downside in the tree— You are never scared of me When other birds would fly with fear Sensing someone. standing near. Chickadee, chickadee, You seem to like my company! (And I have even heard it said You’d light on my hand for bits of bread.)

“Chickadee, chickadee— Upside, downside in the tree— You do not care to southward go When woods are filling up with snow. Instead you make your friendly song And nip and tip on twig and cone Long, after other birds have gone. Chickadee, chickadee— Upside, downside in the tree.”

“Perhaps you find it strange that the wee woodland chickadee could teach us two Bible truths about friendships. But to those who walk the forest and to those who have feeders outside their windows, the chickadee is one of the best examples of a true friend.

“When you come near him, he neither screeches in offense nor watches in suspicion. At the bird feeder, the chickadee is never greedy and does not crowd other birds away. He is a gracious guest.

“Simply then, the chickadee is well-loved because he is friendly. So our Bible tells us that if we would have friends, we must be a friend.

“Then too, the chickadee is not a seasonal visitor. He stays even when pleasant summer had gone and the harsh moods of winter are upon us. This is the other lesson in friendship that Proverbs gives: ‘A friend loveth at ALL times: He loves both in summer and winter of life.

“Finally, these two proverbs point us to the Perfect Friend. ‘There is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother’—the Lord Jesus Christ. When he is our Savior and Lord, he is also our very best friend.”

– ELLEN OBED