God's Grace to a Little Sparrow

God's Grace to a Little Bird

Matthew 10:29-31 "Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.  But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows."

This incident happened to me quite a few years ago but it remains in my memory as an example of God's grace to a little bird.

We live on the coast where winter is usually quite mild but this particular year we had quite a bit of snow.. House Sparrows stay around all year, and if you are feeding them they are regular visitors to your bird feeder.  On this particular winter it was especially cold and the birds were struggling to get enough feed to keep warm.

At the time I was volunteering at a place called the "Rainforest Reptile Refuge" where it was at least 90 degrees inside to keep the "critters" warm.  Unfortunately reptiles are quite delicate creatures, and sometimes one would become ill.  After the lady in charge of the refuge had done everything she could, if they were not recovering she would put them in the freezer where (she thought) the cold would put them to sleep and then they would quietly pass away.

One morning as I was leaving on a volunteer day, I went down the back steps and saw a poor little sparrow lying on the snow.  His little beak was broken, he could no longer feed himself and was slowly starving to death.  His little body was very thin and very cold, and he was barely breathing, and I feared it would be only a matter of time before he died.  I remembered how the lady at the refuge always put suffering animals in the freezer so I tried to do what I thought was the very kindest thing for this poor little bird.  I wrapped him in a little towel and buried him in the snow, thinking he would just go peacefully to sleep and his trials would be over. Then, feeling very sad, I went off to the refuge.

At the end of my day about 8 hours later, I returned home and dug up the little bird so I could bury him properly.  But to my astonishment, the little bird was still alive!  Not only alive, but quite happy!  He just lay there looking at me as if to say, "well, what are you going to do now?"  His body was quite warm, although he made no attempt to fly.  

And so what to do?  Then I remembered that there was, not too far away, another refuge for birds, and maybe they could offer a chance for this little bird even if he did have a broken beak.  So I put him in a little box and off we went to the bird refuge. When the lady who ran the refuge saw the little bird she was very sympathetic, and after she examined him, she told me that even though he was pretty thin, she could make him a new beak out of some type of glue and that he would soon be able to eat and get well enough to be set free again. I told her how I had buried him in the snow and  how I expected him to be dead when I came home, but she told me that burying him in the snow was what kept him alive, she said it insulated his little body and warmed him up.

And so today, remembering this incident, I am praising the Lord for His great grace to this little Sparrow, in preserving His life, and for working all these things together according to His will for this little bird.   Thank you Lord for your care over all your creation. 

vcg/July 2015