PLEASE REMEMBER THAT THIS POST, ALONG WITH MANY OF THE OTHERS WERE WRITTEN 7-10 YEARS AGO. The message is timeless but some references within the posts are outdated and do not apply to current day and time (2023). They were written when I had my other website, Abiding In The Vine. It does not exist any longer.
As I got home from work, I was pretty beat! I just knew that I needed to go check bird feeders, Plum trees and see how many more blackberries the $5.00 Thornless Blackberry bush had ready to pick but I was just gonna let it go tonight. Then dad comes to the back door and hollered, “Leah, you got a little bird caught in the net at your blackberry bush!” I jumped up and flew out the door. You see, I love my wild birds and I would hate for any one of them to get caught and stuck and then get hurt. I put the netting around the bush so the birds would stay away from the top and sides, but I never dreamed one would get up under it and get stuck. So… as I ran… well, walked really fast to help and as I approached the bush, I saw this tiny little female Northern Cardinal fluttering against the netting trying her hardest to get away. As I gently talked to her and said, “It’s gonna’ be alright, little lady…” I reached for her gently and tried to grasp her with my left hand and pull the netting around from the other side, trying very hard not to hurt her in any way. When I did, I must have gotten a tad too close to that large, sturdy beak and she let me have it on the closest thing she could get to – my little finger. She didn’t have any idea that I was trying to help her. She just knew that this “thing” was 1,000 or more times her size and she was gonna give it all she had, and she did that. I struggled to keep hold of her so as not to scare her any more… and finally the netting opened up and off she went. She was so pretty and so happy to be loose from that netting. I felt so bad. I told mom and dad I was going to pick the last of the berries off of that bush and take the netting off. Most of the berries had been picked anyway, and we have enough for a second cobbler. I certainly didn’t want that to happen again. I figured she was pecking around on the ground under the bush and looking for low hanging fruit when she got startled with the dogs and dad coming out of the back door and she tried to fly but got caught in the netting because she was too far up under it to miss it – just my guesstimation – I know that is really not a word, but it fits here.
So, the next day, Saturday, I moseyed out to fill the feeders and to take the netting off of the Blackberry bush and to pick Plums and dang-it, if there wasn’t what looked to be the same young female Cardinal caught in the net of one of the Plum trees. Dang, Dang, Dang!! The dogs were just carrying on under her and she couldn’t get anywhere. Seeing her frightened and fluttering like mad, I dropped the bird seed buckets and as I started for the tree, calling the dogs off of her. Before I knew it she found a way out on her own … so I didn’t have to take the chance of getting my finger pecked or pinched again. I was so happy for her, and I was so mad at myself. I knew that netting on that tree had some holes underneath. I figured she was pecking around again under the tree – because of all the plums that some of the birds had gotten to already. She was enjoying the feast on the ground when the dogs hit the back door and made a beeline for her. She probably jumped up again, trying to fly away and got caught in the netting, yet one more time. It truly did look like the same tiny, little thing – a young female Cardinal. Man did she fly away when she got free. I bet she will never come close to any kind of netting again and may not even visit my backyard again. Bless her heart. I felt so bad. I was not about to fill those feeders before I tied up and fastened that netting up, in whatever manner I had to, so she nor any other of my feathered friends got caught.
You know… God spoke volumes to me in both of those instances. Yep, I bet you are wondering how, too. Well, when we are just pecking along in life and not really paying attention to how we are doing it and where it’s leading us — after all that “low hanging fruit” surely looked good when we first spotted it — we can get caught off guard and before we know it… we are caught in the net just like that little bird. Although, sometimes, when we get caught in the net, it has far more lasting effects. I know! This is the voice of experience speaking here! I can so relate to that little bird. She was just wanting something tasty and satisfying. Much more than that dry seed that she had to fight the other birds for. She found a treasure trove of low hanging ripe berries and even some on the ground. So, she thought she would just sneak over and get a peck or two. After all, it was just a little bit and then she would be back over there eating that seed before you know it. However, she found herself caught in the net and she could not get loose. I suppose, if dad had not seen her, and I had not freed her, she would have fluttered herself to death. She was caught real good in the Blackberry bush net.
Luckily, I got her loose and she lived to fly another day. Although just two days later she found herself in the same predicament, only this time two loud barking dogs were nipping at her feathers and she was surely about to die. If my pups could have jumped just a few more inches, they would have had her in their mouths… at least my little red head would have. My Liesel, my little red dapple Dachshund, even caught and killed a squirrel in mid-air once. What a sight that was, my dad said. So, I have no doubt that she could have caught that fluttering, scared little bird, given a few more inches on her jump. Good thing she is overweight. She could never get another 3 inches off the ground now, I don’t think – LOL!
You know, God has freed me so many times when I was caught in the net. He, in His gracious, gentle way, has freed me and taken me back into His loving arms. Actually, sometimes, it took more than just a “gentle way”. However, it was Love. His pure Love that kept pursuing me and keeping me on His mind and in His heart until, finally, He got me. Not that I don’t have the ability and sometimes even the desire to wander from time to time. He knows that, though. He made me and knows I am human. I suppose we all do because we are human. Some of us more than others. I know that my loving Father will always take me back and even welcome me back into His arms when I have messed up so badly. I hope to goodness I have gotten over the worst part, though. The key is staying as humble as you can and always looking to Him to help you maneuver through this life. This life is tough. He knows it. He told His closest friends that many years ago.
33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
We can count on trouble “in the world” and just expect it to happen to you once in a while – if not more than once in a while. However,… MY JESUS HAS OVERCOME THE WORLD! We can rest in the fact that He knows the way Home. He knows how to lead us Home, too. We just have to follow His lead and wait …. WAIT … for His direction in this life. I know that is easier to say – and type – than it actually is to live it … but it is so true. He has given us the power within us – The Holy Spirit – to overcome any temptation or attempt to sneak some “low hanging fruit” that we are really not supposed to have. Even the power to overcome other obstacles too! Not just taboo things, but what about a “new job” with so many new things to learn that you go home with your head spinning and it’s a good thing that you have almost an hour ride home so you can be back down to a normal altitude when you hit the door. He can help with learning and comprehending. He can impart wisdom and knowledge where it is needed. He can because He is God and He KNOWS ME and YOU! HE MADE ME and YOU! Every fiber of your being. He loves you so much. After all, He calls us His Beloved.
In Him,
Leah
le**@my*******.com
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