A Note From Tom: July 28th, 2011
Hey, everyone!
Hope you’re having an awesome day!
Well, I do know of one person who is having a day that must be less awesome than it could’ve been.
I don’t actually KNOW this person. But I know something about this person, I think.
Y’see, the other day I was walking into Panera and I saw this photocopied sign (in color!) tacked up on the bulletin board. There was a picture of a parakeet. The sign said that this bird was lost in the Woodland area. It’s name is “Axel”. It’s mostly gray with a yellow crest. It answers to “Axel”. Then there was a number to call, written out about thirty times on the little tabs the person had cut at the bottom of the page, so you could just tear the tab off, slip it in your pocket, and call the minute you see a bird that has a yellow head and answers to “Axel”.
The sign had been up there a while ‘cause I had glanced at it a few days before. I noticed that no one had ripped a tab off.
Several thoughts run through my thinking…
No tabs gone…hmmm…
…Maybe not that many people care about birds the way this person does. Maybe it’s a child’s bird and a parent is trying to tell this little heart, “See? I’m doing all I can to find Axel! He’s on the Panera board! If it doesn’t work, we’ll look into renting one of the big billboards along Solway!”
…Or maybe no one had taken a tab because not that many people really have much hope that this person and this bird will ever renew their relationship. A parakeet that flew away. What really are the chances that you’d ever see it again? Best case scenario…it’s gone home to Argentina. Worst case…it was lunch time for kitty. As tough as it is to accept, there is the ol’ “Circle of Life”. And cats have to eat. Cats are people, too.
As I looked at the sign and meditated on it…there in front of the bathroom door…I wondered about this broken-hearted one. I know some might wonder how a person could care about a little bird so much. Some might think parakeets are small, useless, and at times, annoying. On the other hand, I’ve often wondered why God would care for me so much. In His universe, I’m so small…kinda useless…often annoying.
But He DOES care for me! In fact, He even cares for Axel! Jesus said He at least cares for all sparrows. There are 7000 varieties of sparrows in the world. He knows and cares for each one! Matthew 10 says that they’re so common, you could get two for a penny! Luke 12 says you could get five for two pennies! Buy four and we’ll throw one in for free!
But…amazingly…not one falls to the earth without the Father knowing and caring for it!
I remember the Wednesday after Sept 11, 2001. I was brokenhearted and confused, walking on the sidewalk at Jackson Square. There on the sidewalk was a sparrow. It was dead. “The Father knows,” I thought.
He knows, loves, and cares for you! ‘Cause you’re worth tons more than a bird to Him! You’re His precious child! (Luke 12.7)