By Jennifer Stultz
Tri-County Tribune Editor
jstultz@cherryroad.com
Birds are kind of special to me, and I especially like to think that God loves birds as they are mentioned so often as being under his care in the Bible. My favorite hobby is to go outside and sit in a chair under the trees near our young goat pen and watch birds.
Depending on the season, I have seen many interesting birds in our High Plains Gateway backyard. I’ve seen the spring robins, thrushes, and orioles; the summer barn swallows, purple martins, wrens, and kites; the fall hawks, an eagle, and the turkey vultures; and the winter geese, sand hill cranes, cardinals, and blue jays.
Just a week ago, I was sitting in my special place outside thinking more about why I was having so much trouble with my eye (struggling with leaking blood vessels behind my retina) at a time when I really needed to be able to read, edit newspaper stories, play the piano for church, etc. than I was just watching for birds. My eyes both hurt even though only one is having this major problem, but while I was sitting there, a roadrunner popped up in my vision. This rarity was not more than 4 feet away from me, peeking around a tree in the young goat pen, flaring his crest and twitching his long tail feathers up and down.
He was so close I had no trouble seeing him at all! It was so cool. The roadrunner wasn’t scared of me a bit. He just looked back at me, cocking his head and swinging his big, strong beak, sitting there with his fat, healthy body, in the middle of winter, in the sun and the snow. It was almost as if God was saying to me, through the eyes of this amazing creature as he looked right at me, that I shouldn’t be worried about my sight.
Mr. Roadrunner jumped through the fence and took off past the line of goats at the feeder and hoped right up on top of the wire panel nearby, causing an interesting stir among the farm animals. They all wanted to get a good look at him and they cavorted along underneath him as he ran along the top rail.
It was a God moment. When God shows me something really cool in nature I am always amazed. The cleverness of this bird, the “I got this” attitude was stunning. Best of all was that it lined up with a devotional I had read just that morning about how God cares for us, in all our small and big inconsistencies.
“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. And even the hairs of your head are all counted. So do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:29-31).
“But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31).
I believe God is our ever-present help in times of trouble and He sends us signs to remind that He is always with us. We just have to be still and pay attention at the right time, at the right place. I am glad I was in the right place to see that road runner last week. That was cool.
