The family that saves together....

"Not one sparrow falls to the ground 

apart from your Father's will"

Matthew 10:29

Something very interesting happened to us today.  But before I share, there has to be a disclaimer.  The goal of this humble blog is to share how God's Word applies to "everyday" situations.  This was not an everyday situation...

It was shortly after the Apple of my Eye got home from work.  He and I, and both of our amazing and awesome kids were just kinda doin' our own thing, before we came together to do something about dinner.  I was sitting with Awesome Girl in the family room, Hubby and Amazing Boy were in the living room, and I heard a strange noise coming from outside the window.  We have an apple tree in the side yard there, and I looked a couple times to see if there was an interesting bird in the tree or something.  I didn't hear any chirping or twittering, just a sort of fluttering sound, but when I looked, I didn't see anything, so I went back to what I was doing.

A third time I heard the noise, so I turned again, and Awesome Girl did too.  This time we both saw the source of the noise.  A very small bird ~ in the house! ~ fluttering desperately against the window, trying to get out.  I hollered to Hubby, and the four of us sprang into action.  And make no mistake, it was a job for four people....  Of course, it was a full-time job for one person just to get the dog out of the way.

You see, the problem was, the window where the bird was, is a decorative window that doesn't open.  We were trying to trap the bird in a colander, but the window is shaped like a half circle,  and the bird was in the corner, so it was very hard for us to maneuver it in that tight space.  And of course we didn't want to injure its delicate wings or legs.  And when we finally succeeded in working it out of its corner, it took off into the living room.  There's a large window in that room, so we tried to get the screen off of it, with little luck.  (They say screens are "easily removed for cleaning."  Not so much...)

But the bird wasn't at the window.  He was on the floor, and between Awesome Girl and myself, we managed to get the colander over him, then slip a cutting board under him.  She carefully held the top of our "cage" while I held the bottom, and between the two of us, we walked him outside, and set him free.

After it was all over, we were strangely exhausted.   My daughter said she felt like she'd been running, and my heart was still pounding with anxiety.  My sweet boy, unable to help other than keeping the dog far away, had been fervently praying.  And since I knew I was going to share this story with all of you, I asked each of them what they thought the lesson of this experience was.  Here's what they said:

The Apple of my Eye said that if we don't watch where we're going, we'll end up where we don't want to be, and we won't be able to get out.

"The wicked man will be caught in the cords of his sin.  

He shall die for lack of instruction, 

and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray."

Proverbs 5:22-23

Amazing Boy said that the lesson is that we should never stray from God.

" I seek you with all my heart; 

do not let me stray from Your commands."

Psalm 119:10

Awesome Girl said the experience was a reminder to her that we had been trapped in our sins until God rescued us.

"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."

Romans 10:13

I was struck with two thoughts.  First, that the poor bird was frantically trying to get out a window that wouldn't open.  It looked like an escape, but it wasn't.

"Jesus answered: 'Watch out that no one deceives you.  

For many will come in My name, claiming, "I am the Messiah," 

and will deceive many."

Matthew 24:4-5

But the thing which touched me the most was the passage in Matthew about the sparrows.  "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?  Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father's knowledge."  I have always loved this verse because it reminds me of His tender care, for even the smallest of His creations.  It was not His will for that little bird to die today, and we were His hands to rescue it.  It was a very sweet pleasure for me.

~ "Do not fear therefore; 

you are of more value than many sparrows" ~

Matthew 10:31