Our Little Sparrow Recently, a sweet little bird fell from the sky. My darling daughters, Samantha and Amanda, found her hopping about our garage. She couldn’t seem to fly well, and was acting as if she had an injury of some sort. Immediately, my girls begged to help her. They promised they would feed her, love her, and take perfect care of her. “Find a box, and put her in it,” I replied, smiling gently. I thought warmly of the countless pleas my own mother heard from me as a young child. This will be good for them, I thought. The girls came in about ten minutes later, gingerly carrying a box with a makeshift lid. In hushed tones they whispered, “We got her! She’s inside, but we don’t want to startle her!” They slowly and delicately lowered the box and set it on the floor near my chair. I pulled back the lid to find a strangely calm, mottled black and brown bird with a long beak. I reached in and she allowed me to gently pet her chest and head. After a few minutes, she got startled and flew out of the box. She couldn’t seem to get any altitude and only flew about two feet off of the ground. I was able to observe her well at this point, and came to the conclusion that she was simply a juvenile. She must have been out for her first flight and her underdeveloped wings failed her. We recovered her, put her back in the box, and set about identifying her species. After a misidentifying her as a Yellow-Bellied Sap Sucker (to the great delight and onslaught of jokes from our whole family), we finally properly identified her as a Starling. We researched her dietary needs, and were surprised to find that pulverized dog food was a mainstay in the diet of captive Starlings. It has the protein they need to support their system when they have an absence of their primary diet: insects. It was bedtime by then, and Amanda, our youngest, immediately took the bird (now resting in a cat carrier complete with a perch, paper, water, and food) to her room. “We decided her name should be Rachel,” Amanda said. Then, she playfully added, “We also considered “Snack” because of the kitties, but thought against it.” We all laughed at their clever little joke, knowing that our two cats bring us wildlife nearly every day. “Snack” is what Rachel would have been had the kitties found her before our girls. We were all thankful that our girls had found her first… As I laid in bed, Amanda came into the room, beaming. “Mom! Mom! You gotta come see! Samantha begged me to make you come see! Rachel’s cooing!” I opened the door to Samantha’s room to find her sitting on a chair, lovingly petting the head of a very sleepy and content little bird. Rachel opened her eyes to see me for a moment, but as I pet her head, she drifted right back to sleep, gently cooing. It was a priceless moment, and I saw the Lord through the whole thing. “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.” Matt 10:29-31 KJV God has His eye on every little sparrow, and not one falls from the sky without the Father. He knew this little Starling would fall and He orchestrated two of His favorite little saints finding her. He cares so much for that little bird that He brought her to us, where she would be fed and cared for during the time she needs to grow. He brought her to a house filled with love and compassion because He cares for this sweet little bird. If only we were able to see ourselves as the little Starling (although God says we are even better to Him than they are). During the time that we find our wings, sometimes we fail. God immediately sets in motion a plan that will provide for all of our bodily needs. He gingerly carries us in our little box of protection and leads us to safety. Now, we can choose to squawk and scream about it, but He’s going to put us back in that box to protect us while we grow anyway. Sometimes, He will reach His hand into the cage and startle us. We can choose to panic and flutter our wings, or we can choose to see He’s giving us fresh water. We can choose to see terror and worry in everything, or we can choose to see love and provision. When something frightens us, or threatens to make us worry, we can choose to rest in the scripture: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.” Rom 8:28 KJV But, we must truly choose to accept that rest. We are like that bird in the cage, and sometimes it frightens us when God changes our bedding. We don’t realize He’s doing it to protect us, because He loves us. He’s doing it for our greater good. Every little detail of our lives, both good and bad make up the greater composite picture of a life that is meant to bring great glory to God. Allow God to change your bedding and freshen your water. As scary as it is, it is meant for your good. Then curl up in His lap and fall asleep as He lovingly pets your head. He loves you to absolute distraction, dear one. We love our little “sparrow.” Yet, greater are we to the Lord in Heaven who fashioned us with His own two hands. His love and care for us is immeasurable. His love for you is unfathomable.
Posted on: Sun, 03 Aug 2014 19:31:13 +0000
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