A sun bird was in our garden little while ago, feeding on nectar. It was cloudy and looked like an early dusk. It continued its feeding round, till a sudden gush of wind swayed the branches and the Sunbird had to find a secure place to stay. It reached the dry bush in front of our garden.
The two phots below show how the wind had unsteadied the bird with its feathers looking fluffed.
The Sunbirds are known to resist wind and that was what it did, till the wind was no more strong, as seen in the two photographs below.
I watched how the encircling grip of its toes around the branch steadied itself from being blown away. The branch itself was a dried part of a tree.
How a little bird weathered a wind and found its shelter!
What touched me was its composure with no distress bird calls!
Its safety comes from within not even from the branch which in this case was fragile as it was a dead branch.
Our strength may not be enough to sustain us during some adverse times, like what the people of Lebanon feel now with the invasion of Israel in to its border territory!
But with no inner strength the personal loss is compounded.
I like the way the psalm writer in Psalm 84:5-6 makes a mention about strength: "How blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; ....passing the valley of Baca they make it a spring..."
The Sunbird whose strength was within reminded me of this dimension of life- we live stretched by circumstances, but we are also endowed with inner strength to endure!
I strongly feel for ordinary people of Lebanon for whom human brotherhood was a virtue till now. Now the encounter another reality of loss and grief.
Now, let us hope that people of Lebanon would renew their inner strength when adversities abound!
M.C.Mathew(text and photo)
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