When You've Had Your Bell Rung

I was sitting on my bed reading when I heard a loud THUD. I looked thru the glass doors on the bedroom porch to see if the dog was playing in my rose bushes, but he wasn't there. Curiosity got the best of me. I got up to look out the windows when I saw it--a beautiful warbler (yellow bird) lying on the porch, beak up. My heart melted. The bird must've flown into our second story window only to fall flat on the concrete. I noticed it's eyes were closed half way and it's wings were slightly fluttering; almost pulsing. There was no way I was going to let it lie on the concrete by itself so I put my shoes on and went outside.

It looked so helpless lying there. I cupped it in my hands and began gently petting it's head and speaking softly to it, but the blessed bird was limp as could be. It's eyes still closed slightly. I couldn't feel it breathing at all. When all of a sudden, I stopped talking to it and noticed sounds coming from all around me. My ears were filled with chirping sounds of other birds as if they were in stereo, surround sound. I looked in the bay magnolia tree and in the crepe myrtle to see a few birds sitting on the branches chattering about. I looked down at the lifeless bird and said, "Not today, birdie."

I kept petting the top of it's head, then I'd pet it on either side of it's beak. A couple of small, down feathers fell out. (Must've been some kind of hard knock against the window!)

"Do you hear that?" I spoke. "That's your friends talking. They're waiting on you to come back." I began to feel the claws on it's feet move. I moved my hands from a lying position to holding the bird upright. No blood, nothing looked broken and all of it's flight feathers were still in tact. There's still hope. I slowly moved my right hand away that was holding it down to keep it from falling, and it lifted it's head. I don't know if the THUD "rang it's bell" or knocked it out, but the bird started to come to itself. While cupping it with my left hand and stroking it's head with my right hand, the bird chirping all around began to intensify as a few birds around us flew from one tree to another bush.  "They're waiting on you," I said petting it. "You've got to get up and fly again."

By this time, William and the kids noticed me through the windows holding the bird and came out to watch. Everyone got a chance to pet it's soft, feathered head as the bird became more aware of it's surroundings. (It was almost as if it was enjoying the attention by this point.) The claws moved on the palm of my hand and I could feel it's confidence coming back. After a few more strokes and pep talk, it was wide awake and flew to the nearby rose bush. Mission accomplished!

I began to think: How in the world could the bird NOT see the window? Not paying attention, not looking forward, careless maybe? When the blows of life hit, we begin to rationalize what just happened or even point fingers with "what were you thinking?!"

Matthew 6:26-27 says, "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?"

In those moments, I noted several observations.

• The other birds knew this bird had fallen and seemed to stay close by.
• The fallen bird could've easily given up. But with a little bit of attention in the form of holding, petting and soft words, it came back.

Isn't that how our Heavenly Father approaches us? He provides everything we need according to Matthew 6:26-27, stays close by even if we don't feel Him, and speaks affirming words to us softly.

Rest in knowing God will provide when you've had your "bell rung". And may we all be as those birds sticking close by in the trees above our fallen birds to encourage them so they can get up to fly another day. Most people don't need reminded of how much they screwed up. They need to be reminded of how much we still care.