This morning I saw a strange flickering of light and dark across the trees in our neighbor’s yard. Could it be smoke? Surely not a fire!
I ran outside and heard such loud sounds. At first, I didn’t know what it was. But then, I saw a huge crowd of big birds flying around. They were making so much noise! And they had caused the strange flickering of the sunlight I saw through the trees. They were geese, preparing to migrate for the winter.
I watched as they flew around in a huge circle, honking all the time. There must have been a couple of hundred of them. They weren’t organized in a V shape, just a whole lot of groups all trying to go in the same direction.
My husband and I had been watching smaller groups flying around for the past couple of weeks. We decided they were gathering at the large pond, well a lake really, just past our neighbors’ houses, preparing for the migration. And whenever we saw a group flying around, circling our neighborhood and returning to the pond, we thought they were practicing for the long flight together, calling out to each other to learn how to fly in formation. This morning there were so many, I thought they must be getting ready to leave.
The sun was shining and as they flew past, low above our house, I could see their beautiful coloring, and see their beaks opening as they called out to their followers. I was struck by the amazing plan to take care of them in this way, that they would all fly to warmer lands for the winter and return together next spring. They have an inbuilt GPS system to guide them and they spend weeks gathering and preparing to make the long journey together, taking care of each other all the way. Watching them, I felt deep love and pride in these beautiful creatures and how well they were doing.
What a beautiful loving heart their creator had to design them this way! Of course, their creator is also my creator, my Heavenly Parent.
That made me think of the verse in Matthew, 6:26: “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” Indeed, our creator has a parental heart towards all of creation, and especially towards us human beings, God’s children.
Jennifer P. Tanabe 