[The Lord said], “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you . . . “Alas, Sovereign LORD,” I [Jeremiah] said, “I do not know how to speak; I am too young.” But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the LORD. Jeremiah 1:5-8
This morning outside the home office, Gary Cooke and I rescued a tiny baby bird which had fallen from a tree. It laid their with veins and heart pumping and beak in distress and we weren’t sure it wasn’t dead. But it wasn’t; it was very much alive, crawling along the sidewalk as helpless and needy as an ant under the shadow of a shoe. It could only trust outside itself. We scooped it up into a nest of toilet paper and began wondering how to save it since putting it back in the tree didn’t seem to be an option. So Gary began calling around and found a conservation organization which then referred him to a bird sanctuary which was only 12 miles from the office.
Surrounded by every kind of tree, the sanctuary was basically a retired couple’s home and hobby. They rescued just about every kind of wild animal (except raccoons, for example, because they carry rabies) and when the dear man, John, wrapped the tiny thing in his grip, it came alive as if the warmth of his hand flamed its hope for life. “Oh, a baby sparrow,” he smiled. “He’s hungry. It just needs food.”
And I thought about just how many simple solutions arrived at the hand of man and at the feet of this precious creature. It was like we had found a hospital for the indigent, lost, abandoned and afraid. Is it silly to think we had saved a life? Our hearts poured out into its need, so helpless, so undeserving to have fallen from the promise of a gifted life: to nest in the summer, fly south for the winter, and back again.
Gary said it best: Funny how connected we can get to the universe. When we consider in Matthew: God knows when a sparrow falls and when we think of the affection we had for this creature how much more, unfathomably more, Our Creator loves us. Powerful stuff!
Anyway, we learned today that a small solution for a simple soul is worthy of a rescue. Maybe most solutions come from the offer of time and the magnificence of love.
Love to all – Dianne
Dianne Timmering, Vice President of Spirituality
Signature Consulting Services, LLC