His Eye Is On the Sparrow

Wednesday when we came home from work, the thermometer on my porch showed 109 degrees. It was a miserably hot day. As we unloaded our gear from the car, for some reason I noticed a black lump in the corner of my flower bed. I moved closer to find a baby bird huddled in the shadows. He was a tiny little thing that had fallen out of his nest, probably a robin. He was just a wad on his hidden feet, a puffball of down with two gray owlish tufts on top of his teeny head. The only thing big about him was his beak, which was definitely intimidating. In the heat, he looked like he was dying, his eyes mostly closed, barely opening from time to time. DH put on a pair of heavy duty gloves and tried to pick him up to check for injuries. The little bird wasn’t happy about that and instantly came to life. Squawking raucously, he flew up the brick wall of the house, then tried to climb it to get away. I didn’t know little birds could be so loud! DH finally got him; nothing seemed broken or missing, so DH put him back in the corner. It is a common occurrence for babies to fall out of the nest around here, and the mamas usually do their best to continue to care for them. His mama probably knew where he was. I intended to get some water in a little dish for him. I figured he wouldn’t be able to drink on his own, but at least I would feel better about the whole thing….

We went inside. I changed clothes and was wandering the kitchen when I heard a terrible noise. A bird was screaming and it sounded very close. Hmmmm….that sounds like the baby….I wonder….I went to the front door and carefully opened it. There on the threshold, looking like an invited guest coming for dinner, was the little guy. He just stood there, didn’t squawk, didn’t move, like he was waiting for me to do something. At this point I was clueless as to how to help him. Did he follow us to the porch? Was it a coincidence? The whole story is so adorable I had to take more pictures. I ran to get the camera. I love taking pictures that tell a story. By the time DH was able to take a look, the little bird was gone from my porch. We searched the entire front yard and found no sign of him, nor did we hear him. We have continued to look, and Friday I did find one tiny little gray and black down feather in the opposing flower bed. But, that’s the closest we have come to knowing the fate of our little visitor. I trust that he is going to make it. Even if his little life was short, he brought joy into our lives. As I looked at him sitting on the other side of my door, I couldn’t help but think of the words God gave us, teaching us that if He cares enough to know when a sparrow falls, how much more He loves us! “His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.”