Matthew 10:29-31 – For only a penny you can buy two sparrows, yet not one sparrow falls to the ground without your Father's consent. As for you, even the hairs of your head have all been counted. So do not be afraid; you are worth much more than many sparrows! (GNB)

One Sunday morning, as the Junior and Senior Choirs were gathering for their pre-service practice, we were greeted by an unusual noise. After much searching, we discovered that it was emanating from behind the large pipe organ. A further search revealed that the sound was coming from inside one of the pipes!

Obviously, it was a creature of some sort. A bat? A mouse? A squirrel? The thought of the possibilities made several of the children, and a few grownups, shudder.

After some deliberation, a church member returned home to retrieve a ladder, a flashlight, and heavy gloves. He climbed the ladder and shone the light down the pipe. It seemed that a starling has somehow fallen down the pipe, and didn't have enough room to spread its wings and fly out again. Luckily someone knew just what to do.

A rope was lowered into the pipe, and that starling climbed up the rope! Hands were ready as it neared the top, and it was captured and released outside.

So many factors allowed this bird to be freed. If it had fallen early in the week, it likely would have died of exhaustion, starvation, or thirst, before anyone knew it was there. Someone knew to lower a rope for the bird, and the bird knew to climb it.

We are so much like that starling. God has given us freedom: freedom to choose, freedom to act, and freedom to live how we decide. However, we often come to misadventure or danger because of our choices. And yet, without fail, God is watching over us, prepared to lower a lifeline. And as we climb out of whatever predicament we have gotten ourselves into, God is ready with His gentle hands to soothe us, comfort us, and release us again.

Prayer: Gentle Father, You have given us choices in our lives. Often, however, we choose poorly. And yet, You are always there to comfort us. Thank You for helping us when we embrace not Your way, but ours. Thank You for never tiring of our childish ways, and taking us again into Your loving arms. Amen.

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About the author:

Heather Morton <morton@kent.net>
West Lorne, Ontario, Canada
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