El McMeen on the loving kindness of God

The wren had gotten so completely stuck to the inside of the box that it could barely move, except to blink its little eyes at us. Sheila and I were really upset. The thought occurred to us: should we put it out of its misery? (Hold that thought.)

We didn't want to, so I unfolded the box and started to pry the bird's head, legs and everything loose from the box, part by part. I would get one part loose; then, I would get stuck to the thing myself! When I got loose, another part of the bird would get re-stuck. It would have been comical if it hadn't been so pathetic.

The bird was cooperating. My biology professor friend Les Lynn said the little bird was probably so traumatized that he was incapable of doing anything else. In any event, he cooperated, or didn't resist. I managed to get the bird free - feather by feather, leg by leg. God was all over the endeavor - protecting the bird and keeping me focused.

Eventually only the top of his head was stuck to the box. When I got it substantially free, the little guy, with a beat of his wings, flew off! Freedom!

The Holy Spirit brought this incident to my recollection and connected it with the bird incident this morning. The bird this morning was broken, but you couldn't tell by his outward appearance. One had to take steps to investigate and what one found was brokenness deeper than what the outward problem was.

The bird situation last year was the reverse: the bird was in such complete bondage that death seemed like the only way out for him. Yet God had other ideas. He had restoration in mind and He brought about that restoration. In the recent situation, God empowered discernment, which led to restoration. In the earlier situation, God took the impossible, which in the natural led only to thoughts of death as the only escape. Yet through God's power the little bird was led to freedom -not only to walk, but to soar.

Our God is a great and kind God!