TO MY PARTNERS in MINISTRY
to the PEOPLE of HAITI
April 18, 2020
H O P E R E N E W E D and S T A R K R E A L I T Y
An egg! In the nest! In the nest reconstructed in the cherry tree, next to the orange tree, by our porch! HOPE renewed! Yes! Hope renewed is what we all need in times of despair and of discouragement. Of course, true renewed hope can only come from our Savior! Nothing about our Lord changes, even in the days when our whole world seems morphed into something unrecognizable and spiraling out of control. Our Lord remains the Great Healer! Our Lord NEVER leaves us nor forsakes us! He is our Comforter when we suffer loss of health, of employment, of the world as we once knew it, of watching others suffer, and of the death of loved ones. Our Lord is All-Knowing! He knows what we are struggling with today. He knows (and has always known) the day, the hour, and the reason we will die. As Christians, we can rejoice in knowing that when that day comes, whether during the season of COVID-19 or in another season, God will be there to carry us to our Eternal Home.
A second egg! Mama Bird faithfully attending the nest! More hope! Hope of new life! The blessing of a second chance! God is most certainly giving all of us a second (or third or sixtieth) chance at living our lives differently - more kind, more compassionate, more caring, more giving and more practice acting out God-pleasing traits! May those second chances not be forgotten when our world settles back into a semblance of life as we once knew it.
When Mama Bird built her new nest, it was much closer to the door where we enter and exit our house. At first, whenever I would open the door, she would fly away in hopes of concealing that fact that she had a nest and eggs nearby. But it wasn’t too long before she would stay put. She would eyeball me. If I got too close or made a louder-than-normal noise, she would leave the nest. But most times, she watches me and has come to TRUST me. I can do my more-than-once daily check to be sure the nest is still intact and that Mama Bird is being an attentive mom. She does not even seem to mind. How much more important for me to learn to daily trust my Lord and Savior with all things - both big and little!
Daily I am checking out the progress in the nest. It seems Mother Nature has Mama Bird on a “Stay at Home” order. She is being FAITHFUL. She is being PATIENT, even though a bird has no knowledge of what those words mean. Mother Bird is a teacher, without knowing it. Two more admirable traits that I am witnessing by default.
APRIL 16! I rejoice upon learning that the two eggs have hatched. I even purposely scared Mama Bird off the nest so that I could do a newborn photo shoot. I am thankful she permitted me to do that and then she returned to the nest soon thereafter.
At age 2 days, I again peered out of the
door to see Mama Bird doing her motherly duty. Sadly, later that morning, our household learned that neither fledgling was in the nest. One little creature was found on the ground covered with biting ants. The other was nowhere to be found. Mother Bird was gone. Léon gently
removed all the ants and Ghislaine lovingly placed Baby Bird back in the nest. Now we wait to see if Mama Bird will notice and will return to care for the sole survivor. My heart is saddened thinking that she may never return.
A few hours later, we learned that Mother Bird apparently never knew that one of her babes had been returned to the nest and the rescued Baby Bird was not old enough to survive without her! One of life’s stark realities.
Who would ever think that a tiny 6-inch bird could be a reminder of HOPE, TRUST, FAITHFULNESS, PATIENCE and LOSS?!?!? It is amazing how God uses “even the sparrow” to teach us life lessons.
Psalm 91:4-6. 4 He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. 5 You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, 6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.
Nora Léon
Missionary to Haiti & the Dominican Republic Until next time, God willing …………
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