Month: February 2024

One morning last summer after a heavy rainstorm, we saw an adult robin sitting on the ground. I wondered if it was hurt, so I went out to check. As I got within twenty feet of her, she flew away, leaving a wet fledgling exposed to the cool air.

Not touching the baby, I found it alive, but injured. Baby called for its mother then pressed itself to the ground trying to become invisible.

For the next half hour, Carol and I intermittently watched from the kitchen. Mama and papa bird took turns checking on the little one and trying to feed it, but baby wouldn’t open its beak. It was crippled from bouncing off the branches as it fell from its home eighteen feet up in the tree. It appeared to have mortal injuries.

Why did the little one leave the nest? Did it think it was ready for the flight test? Did it jump for joy when mama brought food, and fall out? Due to mama and papa’s concern, I knew they didn’t kick it out.

Or was it a heavy wind that hit our neighborhood? Ah, that’s it. There were twigs, small branches, and pinecones laying around, but no eggshells and no other babies; so either this was an only child or the others managed to stay in the nest.

“Precious, I’m not sure baby’s going to make it.”

“Give it a half hour then check it again.”

“Okay.” And I resumed my writing project.

Time flies when you’re having fun, or busy writing, and I forgot about the crash-landing in the back yard. I returned to the present when I heard, “Have you checked baby recently?”

“No, but I will now.”

I went outside to check. Ants had already found the lifeless form, and a pesky fly was circling. Baby was in the path from the house to my office, so I picked it up by the beak and placed it at the side of the yard.

Just then a strong wind hit the yard, and the empty nest fell to the ground. Mama found the nest, checked it over, hopped or walked around for a few minutes, then left for good. I felt sad for mama robin.

The next day we went on a daytrip around northeastern Oklahoma. Hundreds of cattle were out in the fields, and we saw deer among the trees. The babies revealed a sense of security alongside their mothers, and the mothers manifested love and satisfaction as they tended their calves and fawns.

Thinking back on the mama robin, she must have experienced pain after losing her baby; and that reminded me of when our mama dog showed anguish when her pups died.

God instilled love, concern, and dedication for life into humans and many animals. Mothers – from cats to cows, dogs to dolphins, birds to buffaloes, and humans of every ethnic background – care for their young and will exert much effort to protect the newborn. Some animals, and most humans, would give their lives to protect their young.

The Bible reveals the great love that God, himself, has for his creation. Matthew 10:29b tells us, “But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it.” And Romans 8:35-39 explains how nothing can separate us from the love God has for us.

The primary method of returning God’s love to him is found in Matthew 22:37-39. “Jesus replied, ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

Life is filled with great pain and sorrow. Sometimes it seems like life isn’t worth living. But this life is only temporary; there is much more to know, to experience, to learn about. I would encourage you to turn your heart, mind, and soul to Jesus. Turn to the Gospel of John in the Holy Bible and get acquainted with Jesus. He is the only one Who loves you without reservation and can give you eternal life.

Have you ever done something backwards or sideways? You did everything according to directions, but it just didn’t work out the right way?

Many years ago, dad and mom visited us in New Mexico. The first thing that came out of dad’s mouth was, “Eugene, get me a compass, and mount it on the dash board!”

“What’s up, dad?”

Mom volunteered to help with the story. “Dad turned the….”

“I’ll tell my own goofy story, Verna.” And in an aggravated mood, dad told me how in Arizona, he followed the map exactly as planned. But he didn’t know that, at one point, he had the map sideways and drove north for an hour when he should have gone east. “I don’t like going the wrong direction, and I lost two hours. Let’s go get that compass – now, before I forget.”

I laughed about it, but dad forgave me; he knew I wasn’t mocking him. Then I reminded him of what he taught me: laughing at our mistakes is less painful than getting upset. Dad grimaced.

Another time, I was overseeing a building renovation project. One of our electricians was new in the electrical field, and was perplexed. “I don’t get this.” he exclaimed. “It just doesn’t look right.”

I reviewed his engineering drawing, then looked at the wall he was wiring. “Joe, you’re looking the wrong way. Turn around, and check it out.”

Joe turned, looked at the opposite wall, then the print, back to the wall, uttered a few unrepeatable words, then, “Sorry, man.”

“You’re okay, Joe. I’m glad you stopped to get help. It’s always easier to ask for help than to correct an error.”

I’ve made directional mistakes, too. In January of 2015, Carol and I visited my brother Paul and his wife, Linda, in Florida. One afternoon we went sight-seeing in another town. On the way back, late at night, I made a wrong turn. Getting off the freeway at the next exit, I made what I thought was the correct turn. But it put me back on the same highway – going the opposite direction. Trying to correct my direction several more times didn’t help. I didn’t know the freeway layout, and just couldn’t seem to get it right.

A little frustrated, I asked Carol if I would ever get off this road. But dad’s words came back to me: it’s less painful to laugh than to get upset. Then the words of a song by the Kingston Trio in 1959 came to mind, and I began singing the chorus. It was about a man who didn’t have money to get off the subway in the Boston mass transit system:

“Did he ever return? No, he never returned, and his fate is still unlearned.

He may ride forever ‘neath the streets of Boston as the man who never returned.”

Carol and I began laughing, and we eventually found our way back to Paul’s house.

Well, I found out that I still make directional mistakes. Our television developed a problem, so we bought another one – an inexpensive 32-inch flat screen. I programmed it and made sure everything worked properly. But it wouldn’t change channels when I pressed the channel button.

I contacted the company, and they gave me some information. Situation solved … or so I thought. It worked better, but not the way it should.

Carol, my wonderful helper, said, “You did something wrong.”

It may not surprise you to know that husbands don’t like to hear those words. They may be correct, but we still don’t like to hear them.

After talking with an expert in the field, I realized that the remote controller couldn’t talk with the television because I had the receiver box pointing the wrong way. My precious was right: I did something wrong. With a pink face accompanying a bit of embarrassment, I turned the box around and the system worked perfectly.

Sometimes we humans face problems in life because we are turned the wrong way. We might be stubborn, arrogant, or ignorant, and won’t listen to wise counsel. Those attitudes prevent the situations from being corrected.

But if we relax, let go of our pride, and seek counsel, God will help us figure things out. Studying the Bible can enable us to adjust our attitude, then the Lord can guide us. The Psalms and Proverbs are loaded with wisdom. Start there. What did I tell the electrician? “It’s always easier to ask for help than to correct an error.”