What a Little Bird Taught Me
By Audrey Stallsmith
On a Sunday morning earlier this spring I was hurrying to get my pets fed before leaving for church when I heard an alarmed cheeping from the junk room out back. As I’ve mentioned before, wild birds often contrive to find a way into the house, especially through that now somewhat ramshackle room.
In those situations, I know I have only a limited amount of time to let the bird out before the cats get it. So, I dropped whatever was in my hand and sprinted toward the noise, remembering that there now was plenty of junk piled against the outside door back there, which seldom is used these days.
With scarcely a glance at the bird circling frantically overhead while a couple of cats scrambled atop the hoods on their litterboxes to swipe at it, I started tossing junk away from the door. At my appearance, the increasingly frantic bird began bouncing off the windows, and I was just hoping it didn’t knock itself out before I got the door uncovered.
Finally contriving to drag that portal open a few inches, I ducked low to the floor to provide airspace. Fortunately, the bird’s carom off a nearby window bounced it in the direction of the opening and—sighting freedom—it zoomed out and away.
After slamming the door behind it, I breathlessly returned to providing breakfast for the animals and myself. Because I had to leave within minutes to turn up the heat at our church I didn’t have time to think about the incident until later. It occurred to me then, though, that the bird had appeared much more afraid of me, who was attempting to save it, than it was of the cats which were attempting to eat it!
That didn’t make sense since I feed the wild birds every morning during the cold months. And many wait, chattering, in the trees for me to appear with their sunflower seeds and millet. So, they should trust me, shouldn’t they?
Apparently not. And some people obviously are more afraid of the God who provides for them and attempts to save their souls than they are of the devil who, like my cats, “as a roaring lion walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” (I Peter 5:8)
Granted, I am larger than the cats, which probably makes me appear more threatening to a small bird. Perhaps the fact that God is much more powerful than Satan also makes Deity scarier to some people than His adversary is. But because of that free will thing, those who don’t accept the freedom provided by God fly back into the teeth of evil.
And just as that bird didn’t understand what I was doing when I was flinging junk, we often don’t understand what God is doing when He needs to clear rubbish out of our lives to free us or to keep us free. But, considering all the other ways he takes care of us, we really should give Him the benefit of the doubt on that one!