Alone in a Crowd

Some of you have heard of the "Stalker Bird" that we have here at the house. Okay... I think it's real name is a "Yellowbellied Flycatcher", but I swear, the bird is stalking us!

I know this isn't a great picture... he's pretty hard to catch in the right spot... and I know that is on a hummingbird feeder... maybe he was raised by hummingbirds??? I don't know.

This little guy showed up last Friday. At first I was confused... he was sitting on the back of the rocker on the front porch... just looking in the window. As the day progressed, he began to fly up to the window and peck on it... then he would land on the screen and just hang there, looking in. He has even landed on the back door to sit and peck on it. Everyday, several times a day, he goes through this same routine!

Mickey has suggested that he sees himself in the window and thinks that he has found another of his kind. You see, this little bird isn't generally found around here. They winter in Chille, and migrate to Canada in the summer to breed, then head back to Chille.... and we are pretty sure that at some point on the journey, he became lost. And now... he is here all alone. I called a local newswriter, who happens to be a huge birding enthusiast, and I asked her opinion on what we could do. She said, "He is just going to have to figure out this isn't where he belongs, and then move on to where he is supposed to be."

I've thought about that alot over the past few days... I've decided that this little bird is sure a lesson in our Christian walk. Sometimes we go places we shouldn't... be it from a conscious choice or just by merely following the crowd, and we end up where God just doesn't want us. And like this little bird, we end up "beating our beaks" on the window or door, trying to find a different path... or someone to help us find our way home. And all the while, we haven't really figured out where we are SUPPOSED to be... we just know that it isn't where we are. Once this little guy figures our he isn't supposed to be here, we hope that he will move on and find his family... because while he isn't alone in our yard... we have tons of different types of birds... he is still lonely. We can also be lonely in a crowd when we aren't supposed to be where we are. That is when we need to turn around and walk away... or maybe walk away isn't the best choice of words... maybe I should say we "walk toward" where we were supposed to be in the first place!