Bird, Chirped the 'Word'! (edited)

During the early morning, I opened both the front and screen door to allow the fresh cool morning air to sweep through the house. To encourage more of an air exchange I walked to the master bedroom and opened the rear window but left the screen down. Ahhhh! Exhilarating!  I sat down in a chair, opened my 'Moving Mountains' devotional from Amazing Facts and began to read a devotional about nature. Suddenly, I heard a rustling sound in the living room!! Thinking my wife had returned early from her walk, I called out to her, "Is that you?" No answer.

The rustling persisted accompanied by an odd scratching sound. Scratching, scratching on my foyer floor.

I cautiously peeked from the bedroom, there it was...a bird walking across the wooden entry. Suddenly it was ME vs. BIRD (not Larry, for any 'old' Celtics fans). "Shoo!" I said, waving my arms and attacking to encourage its quick departure. The bird saw my antics and decided flying at me was its best option! Perhaps it sensed the air flow and wished to dart for an opening or maybe it saw through to the back patio. My tactics changed. My team (troop of one) retreated, (I swear I heard a little girl scream). I dodged any contact, made a quick scoot through the living room and into the kitchen. I instituted my only plan of CP: Covert Peering. Yup! You no doubt have heard of "Bond, James Bond". I was 'SPY, SUPER SPY'! 

Suddenly my cell phone rang.....from the bedroom. I weighed my options:

1. Get the phone and be exposed to a flurry of wings and bird-borne pathogens, (I know it's silly but I'm a bit of 'clean-o-phobe' A brief flash of microbiology class......Psittacosis!) Nah! It's just a bird.

2. Let my wife come home and find 'Larry'! Hmmm...

I dared to re-enter the bedroom, snatch the phone and say a quick, "Hello!" No response and my contender 'Larry' bird, a beautiful large Eastern Meadowlark, flails at the screen. I believe they fly south for the winter. I wasn't expecting his arrival and wish he'd leave. Another flashback: An old English literature class. Edgar Allen Poe and 'The Raven' that came "rapping, rapping on the door".

The phone rings again. I see my wife's pic on the phone.

In frustration, I quickly spat out a greeting, "Hello!" 

"Hey, WHOA! You sound stressed! What are you doing?" my wife asks.  

"I'm chasing a bird!" Silence......

"You're chasing a what? Did you say: A BIRD?!"

"Yes, A bird! It flew in the house and I am chasing it. Well,.... I'm trying to at least."

"OH! Well..... I'd better let you go." Click. I was on my own! It was me against 'Larry'. Hmmmm... maybe Edgar is a better name (I know for sure, it's NOT Lenore! Read the poem 'The Raven'). I suddenly grow concerned that in all the excitement, 'Edgar' might 'drop a message' for me to clean. If it does this ....smear tactic, he will be renamed 'Pooping Poe'! 

Edgar, still flailing at the screen, seemed to chirp a scream for an escape. I grabbed a shirt and successfully threw it on him, carefully scooped up both as Edgar continued chirping bird words. I quickly walked to the open door and released it too the wild. A good spy am I.

It suddenly dawned on me that I had started my devotional reading about nature, suddenly nature was scratching at my door and then staring at me? I glanced at my shirt and spied a 'message' from......Pooping Poe. 

Just because we find an open door, it doesn't mean we should fly through it. If we enter and find ourselves captured by circumstances and/or our poor choices, by all means, PRAY! Prayer reveals many awesome open doors. Very soon those doors will close and that shirt (robe) of 'escape' will someday no longer be needed. For now, the beauty is that Christ is waiting EVERY MOMENT to welcome us like a fresh cool morning breeze. He covers us with His robe of protection. Invite Him to 'fly' into your life and do some Spring cleaning! It will be a welcomed change. Stop sitting on the windowsill of life flailing at the screen of separation. You can fly to freedom with Christ one moment at a time. ~Pray /\