I was in the kitchen cleaning up lunch dishes when I heard Bruce (my ex-husband) call my name. “Leah, come here… come see…” I put down what I was doing and met him on the front porch. In his hands was a pigeon. Bruce found him hanging upside down from a set of overhead lines. He had gotten tangled up in some fishing line somehow and was just hanging there. He didn’t know how long he had been there, but he cut him down as soon as he found him. The poor thing was in terrible distress. I got a towel to wrap him up and each of us took turns holding him a while. He would shiver every now and then, and just look up at us. He was so pretty. I don’t know if he was one of those special messenger pigeons or just a common pigeon, but he sure was a pretty blue gray. He didn’t have any bands on his legs or wings, so we figured he was just a common pigeon.
Nonetheless, he was one of God’s creatures that was in distress. We wanted him to have a name, of course, so we named him Pete. We held him wrapped up in that towel for about an hour. He finally died, but he didn’t die alone. We were with him, stroking his pretty feathers and talking to him the whole time. He would look up at us every now and then and just put his little head back down. Never could figure out where he could have gotten so tangled up in the fishing line. After he passed away, we buried him in the back yard.
Just the other day I was driving down a road in my town and I saw a bird in the middle of the road. It looked like a young grackle. I noticed that it was still alive when I drove past it. I made a quick turnaround (it was legal, mom… into a driveway and parking lot… no U-Turn…. lol). I quickly parked in the parking lot across the street from where it was laying, and I made my way over to the little thing, stopping traffic to pick it up to move it to the yard in the grass. It looked like it had a little bit of a bloody beak, and the wings looked a little out of whack. I was on my way somewhere and couldn’t stay with it, but I at least got it out of the road. I didn’t want it to meet its demise with a car tire. I prayed over it as I left and told God it was in His hands now.
Another time, when I worked in Dallas, my office was in an industrial park kind of area. We had little Live Oak trees scattered here and there throughout the parking lots. There was a mockingbird that had been born the spring before and he was patrolling “his” area. I know… I am only assuming that this was the same mockingbird, but for the sake of this story, it’s ok. OK… Anyway, the young mockingbird would sit outside in the trees and sing all day long. Diving and swerving at any other bird in the area. The office I worked in had large plate glass windows all around. We could see the aerial display from time to time from the conference room. One morning I came in and found a female Painted Bunting laying at the front door – dead. It was the most beautiful olive grey color. I took her home and named her Betty. I buried her in my flower bed.
Over the course of the next few days, one of my co-workers told me he saw some drama unfold. The resident mockingbird was chasing a little green gray bird and it chased it right into the plate glass window of the conference room. Dang! Another dead female Bunting. I called Wild Birds Unlimited and told them about the mishaps. They told me that the winds had been so fierce at that time and it probably blew them off course from about half mile away where there was an open field. They are usually never found in an industrial park type setting. I took this second bird home, named her Betsy, and buried her in the same flower garden.
I said all that to say this… God gave us “dominion” over all the earth and all that is in it.
Genesis 1:26-28. “26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.”
The definition of Dominion is: sovereignty; control. I know some folks that take that too far, abusing and controling. I do not believe that is what God had in mind at all! I am going to always be one of those folks that stop to help or rescue something if it is within my power. God put that in some of us and not in others. I have a lot of great friends that believe the same way. They would have done the same thing I described above given the same circumstances. I know they would!
I may not be able to make any money saving animals and birds, but I will always attempt to help when I can. We are put here on this earth to help the poor and the less fortunate. I believe that is not only our human counterparts, but all of God’s creatures. The encounters I have had with nature and the wonderfulness of it all has blessed me beyond compare.
I love the little house sparrows that have a nest just out my kitchen window. I watch 2-4 nests of babies leave that little birdhouse every year. I had a nest of 6 black capped chickadees one year and I love to feed the wild birds in my back yard too. I have quite a wide range of customers that feed at the feeders daily. I have counted a total of about 22 different species of birds. Even a cooper’s hawk… unfortunately he doesn’t eat the seed, he feeds on the dove. Yep, a cooper’s hawk will kill a morning dove very quickly. The blue jays go crazy when he is around though. The blue jays are the ALARM in the bird kingdom! They alert everyone when the hawk is around. God has blessed those loud, cantankerous birds with the loudest, most irritating call when there is danger or an intruder in their territory. The blue jay is one of my favorites because they are very “community” oriented. They stick together and live together more than most birds. Plus, I just think they are pretty. Also, of course, you cannot forget the multitude of squirrels that feed at the feeders too! I don’t mind them, because they are God’s creatures too. They need to be fed just like the birds.
I am so glad God gave us the beautiful birds of the air and the wonderful creatures on the earth… well, I am not so certain about some of them… roaches, spiders and snakes… ICK! Anyway, I digress… I just wanted to share a few of my experiences with you and say how important it is to take care of our earth and the creatures within. God created it because He loves beauty and for us because He loves us so much! As I said, we should be thankful He didn’t give us a black and white world.
Why not thank God for such a beautiful world that He gave us to live in and enjoy. He loves us so much! After all, He calls us His beloved!
In Him,
Leah
le**@my*******.com
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