Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
–Matthew 10:29-31
9 April, 2017
I was in a deep sleep taking a nap, when my phone rang,
“Honey! Come here! I found a baby sparrow!”
So I went down to the parking lot, and Amith was holding the little guy (or girl. We’re still not sure which gender it was). Amith couldn’t find the nest, but we saw the mother fluttering around. So we set the baby down and waited at a distance for 20 minutes or so to see if the mom would come to her offspring’s rescue. But sadly, she didn’t.
There were cats, cars and carnivorous birds around, so we debated what to do.
“Shall we take it?” Amith asked.
“How could we feed it?” I asked.
“Well, defiantly no one will feed it if we leave it here.”
“Where would we put it?”
Amith smiled and said, “We have a little pot…!”
And that’s how we ended up with the bird. Seeing how Amith cared for the bird made me see that he’s going to be a very kind and loving father someday.
…You know, I even caught him making kissey faces at the bird!
The bird was fragile; it had a broken leg and I was scared of hurting it, but Amith showed me that I could hold it without harm. As neither of us are really experienced with animals of any sort, I researched online what to do if you pick up a baby sparrow and what to feed it. We found that it’s pretty tough to keep them alive! It got hungry every 45 minutes and as we didn’t have access to pet food we did our best to feed it tiny bits of boiled egg. However, grapes were its very favorite. And thankfully, baby birds will sleep through the night if they’re not nocturnal, so we could get some rest.
Usually a groundling dies after 24 hours, and ours only lived for 4 days after we found it. On the fourth day it became sickly and in its final hours Amith very kindly cared for it so that I wouldn’t have to watch it die.
There are several reasons why a baby bird may fall out of its nest. One common reason is that it tried to fly too soon. It’s possible this was the case with ours as it had some pinions, but it was still very downy and weak.
How often do we do the same in our life? How often do we ignore the fact that God’s time frame and plans for our life are different than ours and jump ahead into something we’re not ready for?
But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.
–Isaiah 40:31
I’m thankful my husband waited for God’s will for who he should marry even when he was lonely. I’m glad I too waited on God’s timing to marry Amith, although temptations came my way. I can’t imagine being married to anyone else.
As we wait upon the Lord we may experience anxiety of an unknown future. Where will I find a job? Who will I marry? How will my children turn out? Those who act out of fear and those who rush impatiently into a decision will suffer, sometimes for their whole life. But just as God sees even the smallest animal and their needs, so He sees us. And we are of infinite more value.
Even if this bird launched from its nest too early, God placed my husband in just the right spot at just the right time so we could keep it safe. If it had stayed in its nest and grown into adulthood it would have been better, but still God provided for it and gave us joy in caring for it. How much more will he provide for us even if we stumble.
Anna Sojourning 