One day one of our caregivers at the retirement home came running into the dining room where I was eating lunch and hysterically reported the misfortune of a little sparrow in the yard. The bird had been drinking up the water on top of one of the sprinkler heads on the lawn and its foot had become lodged inside the pop-up mechanism. Obviously troubled and moved with compassion for the bird, the caregiver pleaded for my help.
Instinctively, my sarcastic humor kicked into overdrive; “Do you believe in the sovereignty of God?” I inquired.
“What does that mean?” she asked.
I replied, “It means that God is aware of everything and is in complete control. Nothing happens that He does not allow. So that bird is predestined to become cat food.”
I thought my answer was witty but she was more disgusted than amused. So I left my lunch and followed her to the bird.
The solution seemed simple enough; I would just lift the pop-up sprinkler head and the bird would be free. But my attempt only frightened the bird more as it wildly flapped its wings and frantically tried to escape. In its desperate struggle, its foot was bloodied and it a
ppeared as though the bird might lose it.
I knew what I had to do to protect the bird in order to free it. I lunged my hand down quickly over it's frightened little body. I sensed it's panic and felt the pulse of its racing heart. With the bird firmly gripped in my strong hand, I was able to remove its foot from the sprinkler. When I opened my hand, the bird quickly flew away.
I suppose that God could provide a tasty sparrow for a hungry cat. But in this case, in His providence, He directed that caregiver to me for help.
God used that incident to remind me of His watchful care over His creation as described in the words of a familiar song, “His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me.”
If He would do that for the bird, surely, He will take care of His children.
Instinctively, my sarcastic humor kicked into overdrive; “Do you believe in the sovereignty of God?” I inquired.
“What does that mean?” she asked.
I replied, “It means that God is aware of everything and is in complete control. Nothing happens that He does not allow. So that bird is predestined to become cat food.”
I thought my answer was witty but she was more disgusted than amused. So I left my lunch and followed her to the bird.
The solution seemed simple enough; I would just lift the pop-up sprinkler head and the bird would be free. But my attempt only frightened the bird more as it wildly flapped its wings and frantically tried to escape. In its desperate struggle, its foot was bloodied and it a
ppeared as though the bird might lose it.I knew what I had to do to protect the bird in order to free it. I lunged my hand down quickly over it's frightened little body. I sensed it's panic and felt the pulse of its racing heart. With the bird firmly gripped in my strong hand, I was able to remove its foot from the sprinkler. When I opened my hand, the bird quickly flew away.
I suppose that God could provide a tasty sparrow for a hungry cat. But in this case, in His providence, He directed that caregiver to me for help.
God used that incident to remind me of His watchful care over His creation as described in the words of a familiar song, “His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me.”
If He would do that for the bird, surely, He will take care of His children.
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