Bird Song
by Rev. Dr. Jacque Franklin
As I was working from home, I sat at my desk looking out the picture window. It frames the woods that live behind my house. I open the sliding glass door to let all the Bird Song in on the gentle breeze. When suddenly there was a loud thwack. I knew that sound. It’s the sound of a Bird flying straight for the window. At certain times of the day it reflects the beauty of the woods and looks like a safe place to fly, when suddenly... it is not. The hardness of the plate glass window meets bird in mid-flight and the collision is audible. I went to look for the bird hoping he was just stunned and not lifeless. He was hard to find in his Finch camouflage-feathering that blended into the stacked chairs. His bright tiny eyes looked up at me helpless in his concussed state. I picked up his tiny body, all 1 oz of him, and checked his wings and feet. Then I set him in the half empty birdbath to recover.
I recognized that look. A few weeks ago I too hit my head from a fall and found myself helpless. It was a scary few days as my rattled brain matter recovered from the jarring impact. I watched the confused tiny bird. At first he sat quite still until another bird that looked similar to him arrived to give him a look over. The concussed bird flitted his feathers but seemed unable to move out of the birdbath. The second bird flew to a nearby branch and sang a Finch song. Other birds flew through the trees. The first bird tried to flutter again only to slide down the slick side of the birdbath. I looked at just the right time when finally the Finch was able to fly to the safe and waiting bushes.
It seems we were cruising along when the pandemic rose up and smacked humanity down. Stopped in our busy little tracks. Fluttering in a helpless state we have felt fear, anger, confusion.
And yet God cares for us. It is up to us to hear the surrounding bird song encouraging us to keep trying. Keep living. It is up to us to listen to the creation around us and hear the encouraging Voice of God say,
I’ve got you. Relax, rest, recover.
