God uses nature in many ways to speak to us about life, and this week, nature literally showed up at my doorstep to teach me a life lesson. I was making my morning coffee when I heard a big thud at my back door. The door to our back patio is a French door with a big glass window. I looked up and didn’t see anything… until I got a little closer and noticed a splat of water and feathers on the glass. I looked down and saw who had knocked—a tiny little bird.
This bird had clearly been through quite a traumatic impact to its head. It looked like its neck was stuck in one position. If it were a cartoon, it would definitely have dizzy stars spinning around its head! Its eyes were half-shut, and it looked like it was in pain. What was I to do? I’m not Snow White by any means, and I didn’t think touching it would help. Plus, my cat was watching eagerly at the door, so bringing it inside wouldn’t be any safer than leaving it outdoors! I decided, as silly as it sounds, that I’d stop and say a quick prayer:
“Okay, Jesus. You are the Healer, and You love all of Your creation, big and small. I can’t help this bird, but You can. Please don’t let it die here on my porch!”
Time went by. I kept getting up to check on this bird as the day went along. After a while, it regained full range of motion in its neck and reopened its eyes! From the outside, everything looked fine. Still, it sat in the same spot for quite a while. Externally, the bird looked great, but it still needed some more time before flying away. Finally, when I got up to check again, it was gone! But then I noticed the bird was still in the yard, hopping around in the grass—and not alone. A group of three more birds who looked just like the first were now hopping around with my porch visitor until they happily flew away together.
There are some practical observations we can take away from this bird. The first one is simple: healing takes time.
If you’ve gone through something hard, whether physically or emotionally, healing takes time. Sometimes it’s obvious that we’ve been injured by external evidence. Other times, everything looks fine. My porch bird looked back to normal very quickly after impact, but it still took the time it needed before flying away.
It’s important that when we’ve been through something traumatic, we don’t pressure ourselves to keep up with everyone else around us just because everything looks fine on the surface. To run on an already-injured knee too soon, before a doctor’s release, would be foolish and would only make the injury worse. It’s the same with the traumatic events we face in life. We can hustle and push through with all our might until we finally reach a breaking point. It’s vital to our spiritual health that when our souls experience grief, loss, or any type of pain, we surrender our lives to the Healer—the One who not only has the power to miraculously heal our physical bodies but also to transform our lives from the inside out. Only when we are healed and whole do we truly have the strength to “fly.”
“…but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:31 NIV
Secondly, it was amazing to me that this bird did not fly away alone. A tiny bird community came to check on it. What a beautiful picture of God’s will for His creation! We need community to truly thrive and heal. Sometimes we isolate ourselves in an attempt to fix ourselves before being vulnerable enough to let others see our brokenness. But maybe those friends are the very thing we need to find healing in the first place. God created us for community, and the New Testament emphasizes that we should not neglect this (Hebrews 10:25)!
Lastly, God brought a Scripture I know so well to life in a personal way by showing me that He heard my prayer and truly does care for even the tiniest of birds:
“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?” Matthew 6:25-27
Just as God cares for the birds, so He cares personally about every detail of each of our lives. If you need healing today, you can approach the Healer, the One who is always more than enough to meet every need!
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