Friday Ramblings

Yesterday, I went to visit my friend, Paula. I noticed a sweet little nest in the alcove above her front door, complete with a little baby bird. He looked ready to be done with the nest and only had a couple of downy feathers left on his head.

My friend answered her door and I commented on how great the nest was right there, and she looked very sad and before she could say anything more, the bird began to flap and fly...

to no avail.

Over and over and over, he would struggle out of his nest, only to be held down by something that was used in the materials of the nest. My friend, Paula, said she had watched this for three or four days. Now, Paula, being Paula, would have been up in that alcove in a hot second to help that little bird. Her heart is the tenderest I have seen toward animals. But Paula has been stuck herself. She is battling back problems and I have watched her over and over to try and break free herself. Her husband wasn't due home until late that night, but Paula had a plan and was I interested in helping?

Well.

You may or may not remember, but I'm fairly ummmm...well versed in bird catching/saving, as told in tthis post.

The plan was to get a ladder, gloves, scissors, broom and towel. I would climb up the ladder and knock down the nest into the towel that Paula was holding.

First off, let me tell you that birds are very industrious. How in the heck they make that nest stick the way they did is beyond me! I ended up poking and poking...and while blowing dirt off our faces, down it came-right past the towel and onto the sidewalk.

oops.

No fear....our new little friend was as sturdy as his nest. Paula held him and talked to him while I figured out where to cut the string that was holding him to his home. 

Yes, I did panic for just a split second that I would cut in the wrong place, but at the first snip, he was free and flapped away onto the ground to hide in the bushes.

As you can imagine, his little heart was beating hard and he didn't move a whole lot. I would imagine he was pretty tired after his ordeal. Paula brought a little container of water and seed and set it by him.

So, here is what I'm thinking little bird taught me:

Sometimes we can flap and strain and flap and strain, but in the end we need help from someone else.

We so need each other. We need to be independent, but we NEED each other.

Some days, we can flap and strain all we want, but it just needs to be a day where we are quiet and patient. That day can turn into many, many long days for some people. Don't forget them. Check on them. Love on them.

When you are not stuck...be thankful! It doesn't have to be for anything big. Maybe a sunset, a good book, a quiet hour, but being thankful is an amazing attribute to develop.

 (FYI-being sleep deprived makes it much, much harder to develop this. I'm just saying...)

Funny how in my journal page the last two days, I came up with these pages. Time, flight and being brave are a running theme these days for me. I'm glad I have people to share it with.

A line in the new song by Sara Bareilles called Brave. So good.

When I left later that morning, little bird was gone. He found his strength and stretched his wings.

Can you imagine how good it felt to be free?!!