Lessons From A Mother Bird

I never seem to remember it is there.
It’s not until the first spray of the hose hits the dirt that I remember.
It’s not until something flies out right in front of me that I realize my carelessness.
Every morning, for the past week, it has happened.

Three large potted plants hang on my side porch.
They have grown full and lush.
The ivy cascades down each side and almost touches the porch floor.
The flowers are responding well to the organic fertilizer I add weekly.

I should have learned by now that the middle plant tends to be the favorite.
It gets the same amount of sunlight.
It gets the same amount of water.
However, being in the center, it is a little more secluded than the others.

I should remember that birds love to build nests in the middle hanging plant.
Every year, I will see twigs and small branches on the porch floor.
There is never enough of them for me to know for sure.
One telltale sign gives it away.

The mother bird will always leave one long twig protruding from the hanging plant.
I saw that long twig one day and knew.
I peeked inside, without touching the plant, and saw a perfect nest.
The nest was shaped like an igloo.

Sorry little bird, I said out loud as the mother bird flew away.
She flew right into the woods, which is next to the stone wall very close to my porch.
As she flew away, the mother bird started to make noise.
She continued to make noise as she flew.

She was quite loud.
The woods and lower brush are too thick to see exactly where she flew.
But I heard her the entire time.
In fact, I began to hear two birds as if in conversation.

I felt so bad that I disturbed her as she was on her nest.
I remember how many times I would just sit down when my children were little.
Inevitably, someone needed me for something.
Without fail, something else demanded my attention and my sitting time was over.

Except this time I was the one who forced the mother bird’s sitting time to be over.
I was the one who forced her off her nest.
The spray of water intruded on her nest sitting.
I wondered if the nest itself was safe from the spray?

I looked inside the plant without touching it.
Everything was fine.
The igloo shaped nest was still there.
The long twig still protruded from the nest.

I sat down in a chair that is next to a small glass top table.
I sat perfectly still.
I watched the woods for movement.
I  heard the two birds conversing with each other.

I saw a bird fly a bit closer to the wall.
A second bird flew closer as well.
The two birds continued to chatter back and forth.
I decided that one was the mother bird and one was the father bird.

It seemed that I sat there a long time.
Eventually, the mother bird felt safe enough to fly back to the nest.
She had never stopped making sounds from the time she flew away.
The sound stopped when she was safely back on her nest.

The other bird continued to make sounds from the woods.
The other bird seemed to be keeping watch from a distance.
I was amazed at the communication that was going on.
The mother bird made sounds so her babies knew she was close by.

It touched my heart to witness this little bird family.
It made me marvel at the Creator God who thinks of everything.
We can learn so much from the animals and birds.
There is such order in God’s design.

But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? (Job 12:7-9)

The mother bird was not far from her babies.
The mother bird continued to make sounds so that her babies would hear her.
Even though she was away from the nest, she was close by.
Even though she had to fly away for a time, she made sure they were protected.

I thought about Jesus as He preached and taught about the Kingdom of God.
I thought about how Jesus sent His Spirit to teach and to guide us while He is away from us.
Jesus is near, and continues to speak to us even when not physically present.
We have His Word to guide us and continually speak to us.

God continues to speak through His Word.
We are not alone.
What the Father planned, the Son accomplished, and the Spirit applies to our hearts.
We are well protected in His loving care; He is never far from any one of  us.

Rest in that truth.

God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. (Acts 17:27)

 

2 responses to “Lessons From A Mother Bird”

1. Lovely reminder!

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   • Amen, Sue!

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