I was supposed to be fixing dinner. But then I heard that sound – the distinctive “Poing!” of a bird striking the glass of the dining room picture window. Gooey hands and all, I went to look, not really expecting to see anything. But there he was; tiny, concussed, and helpless. I washed up and went out to get him before a cat did.
Not much bigger than a hummingbird. This little guy (later identified as a male MacGillivray’s warbler) had a pretty bad headache, by the looks of it. (I’d done this drill before. Sometimes in the cold. Not usually when dinner was dependent on me…) I stood outside and held him, safe from predators, until the wooziness started to wear off. When he could sit up on his own, I tucked him into a tree and brought him a drink in an eyedropper. That perked him up a bit. All this time he showed no fear of me, but gratefully accepted what I offered during his time of need.
After a bit, his improvement obvious, I decided to put him in a better tree.
He had other ideas.
He looked at me, and I got the distinct impression that he was thanking me: “Thank you for all you’ve done. But I don’t know you, and I don’t know what you intentions are. So I choose to remain free.” And with that, he spread his wings and returned to life as God intended for him – free as a bird.
It got me thinking. Perhaps that little tiny bit of feathers has more sense in his joggled noggin than we do as a nation of Americans. I came into that birdy’s life at a time when he needed protection. So too, governments are instituted for the protection of its citizens. But when that bird ceased to need my protection, he ceased to want it.
His choice required action. An apathetic bird would have sat meekly in my hand and done nothing on its own, convincing me that the blow had addled its brain and he was unsuited to independent living. Not this little guy. He seemed to know that once lost, freedom can scarcely be regained. He took action. May we do the same.
Best wishes to you this July Fourth! May you contemplate freedom – both what it costs, and what it is worth!
“A powerful nation, like our own,
can be ruined only by its blindness,
that will not see destruction as it comes;
or by its apathy and selfishness,
that will not stir, though it sees it.”
— Henry Ewbank, 1835