Love...

The other day I was walking along Dillingham Boulevard in the late afternoon to pick up my car so I could pick up one of my sons from school. As I passed a large driveway into a commercial building, my eyes glanced down and I saw a young bird, a fledgling, who looked like she may have tried to fly from the large tree next to the sidewalk, who was horribly crushed at the edge of the driveway. I cringed at the scene as she looked like she may have been run over by a car or stomped on by a pedestrian. I felt sick inside.

As I passed, something made me glance back one more time, and as I did, she lifted her wobbly head briefly, then let it fall back down. I was more horrified that she was still alive. I stopped in my tracks, thought about what to do, as my Heart pounded, then walked back towards her.

Her head was raw and bloody with no feathers or skin on it. Like a vulture looks. Her body was contorted and partially smashed. I couldn't believe she was hanging in there. She lifted her head and looked up at me then dropped it again. My Heart was again pounding about what to do.

There were two large men hanging around outside of an adjacent bar and I realized they were watching me when their raucous and boisterous inebriated conversation suddenly quieted. I thought about trying to pick her up and move her out of the driveway. Fortunately, I had put some napkins in my shirt pocket and pulled them out. I bent over and gently picked her up with the napkins and was horrified to see her stomach contents and some of her viscera pour out below onto the cement.

I carefully carried her over to the adjacent tree, and placed her on the ground, between two large roots, in a more quiet and secure location, wrapped in her white veil of soft napkins. I could still sense the two men watching me, as well as people in vehicles inching along in afternoon traffic and adjacent to me.

I covered her over with a small flat piece of plywood I found nearby to try and protect her from stray cats or other predators. After she was tucked in, I turned and continued my Journey and walked past the two still silent men.

I suddenly had tears streaming down my face as I recalled her suffering. I thought that maybe I should just put her out of her misery, walk back to the tree, and end her suffering in an equally brutal act of violence. But the thought of that just made me more sad. I couldn't do it. I felt conflicted. More tears fell as I walked. I didn't care if people in the cars were looking at the strange man with issues. I was still trying to process my actions and decide if it was the right thing to do.

Then I did the only thing I could do in these situations. I Prayed. I humbly asked my Greatest Teacher and Companion, Christ, to help the situation. I asked Him to Heal and Resurrect her completely, which only He can do, or to end her suffering right away and bring her home.

I continued on my Journey and for the rest of day, the thought, and sight of that bird, flowed in and out of my mind. The next day, in the afternoon, I had to walk that same path again. Before I began my Journey, I thought about my bird and went through different scenarios of what I might find when I looked at her body.

As I walked along the sidewalk for quite awhile, and approached the scene, I strained to look ahead at the area where I left her. The board was still there. As I came upon the place, I moved the board over. There was nothing. No bird. No feathers. No blood. No guts. No napkin. Nothing. It was about as clean and sterile a scene as you could get.

As stunned as I was, after preparing myself for another sad viewing, it truly was a relief not to see this poor bird again, all torn up from some predator, or covered in ants. It would have opened up the wounds from the previous day and the guilt.

My rational Mind tells me, that a cat may have come in the dark of night and taken her body away. Or rats. Or a dog. But my Heart tells me that Christ brought her home. Simply because I humbly and genuinely asked. I Prayed. I Cried. Out of Love and Compassion. Simple as That. This is what I Believe. See you on the Other Side Sweetheart...