Bobby was watching while Mum put some bread in the bird feeder. He always loved watching how the little birds tried to take their bit of bread while the bigger ones were scrapping among themselves. There were the bigger mynahs that strutted around on the lawn, trying to grab some of the crumbs that fell from the sparrows’ beaks. They looked important as the puffed their chests out and strutted along. Then there were the small silver eyes that hopped here and there, quickly grabbing a piece of bread while the other birds were fighting amongst themselves. He laughed as he watched a cheeky sparrow chasing the other birds and then quickly hopping back to his spot by the feeder. Meantime, some of the other birds were spending all their time chasing the others away.
“Look Mum,” he called out to his mother as she came inside again, “Some of those birds are so greedy! They spend all their time chasing the others away and then miss out themselves!”
“That’s right Bobby,” Mum said, “What does that remind you of?”
“Well”, he said slowly, “I s’pose it shows that when we are too mean to share our things, we are the ones who miss out in the long run!”
“That’s exactly it”, Mum said, “Do you remember when Sarah wouldn’t let you others play with her new skates when she first got them? She was so busy hanging onto them, that she ended up having a really miserable day. If she had only shared them with everyone, you would all have soon found out that they only fitted her feet properly, and it was no use wanting to play with them. But she didn’t let you, and so you all still wanted to play with them. It was all for nothing!”
“Ye-e-es, I remember,” Bobby said, “Even Betty wanted to play with them and they were miles too big for her to put on.”
He started watching the birds again. “Look Mum!” he cried out, “There’s a different one there, it’s got a bit of red on its head!”
“That’s a chaffinch” Mum said, “You don’t see many of them around the place. See how pretty it is. They are all so beautiful, it’s amazing how God has made them all different and they stay that way. A sparrow always baby sparrows and a blackbird always has baby blackbirds. Everything that God makes is perfect and they all do as he says.”
“Yes, Mum,” Bobby said thoughtfully, “I guess that’s how God wants us to all be too isn’t it. “
Betty ran down the path just then and the birds all scattered. “Mum, Mum,” she cried as she came inside puffing, “I just saw a great big bird up on the power lines. It had a white chest and dark green on its back, and it didn’t take any notice of me when I came under it!”
“That’s a wood pigeon,” Mum said, “There aren’t many left around here now, and they are very special birds that God has given us to enjoy. Make sure you don’t frighten them. See the little birds here that are eating out of the bird feeder!”
Betty turned around and looked out the window. Sure enough, the little sparrows and silver eyes were back again.
“They are cute, but that big one was just something!” she said as she went to the frig to get a drink.
