This past Sunday, I had a couple of amazing animal encounters again. With spring in the air, and considering my previous entry, these were pretty incredible.
After returning from church, I changed out of my "Sunday" clothes, then took the dogs for a walk, up and down the driveway. I had left the door to the den open, to let some fresh air in. As we stepped back inside, I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye. A small wren had flown into the house, and was buzzing around in the den, trying to avoid us. I chased her around the room, trying to catch her against a window, drape or something. She flew upstairs to the kitchen, right into the blinds of the breakfast nook. I gently trapped her and pulled her out, trying not to hurt the little creature. She squawked at me, very unhappy with being captured. I loosened my grip to adjust, and out she jumped, flitting around the kitchen again. She finally landed on a drape, and I was able to quickly snatch her in my hands again, still careful not to harm her.
As I walked back outside to release her, I was amazed at how tiny and fragile she was. She fit in the palm of my hand. As I opened my hands to let her go, she suddenly gripped one of my fingers with both little feet, and didn't let go. I held my hand up, this tiny bird perched now on my index finger, and she just looked at me, refusing to fly off immediately. Was she wondering why I didn't crush her, or eat her? Who knows. It couldn't have been more than 20 seconds, but she finally flew off, the dogs and I watching her departure.
Later in the afternoon, after a short nap, I was again outside with the dogs, this time sitting on the front steps, the dogs sitting on the front walkway. Birds were chirping and singing everywhere, all around us. Suddenly, in a flash, a large red-tailed hawk swooped down out of a nearby tree, and caught a small bird in his talons, tumbling into the grass not five feet from Johnny. Before any of us could even react, the hawk was off toward the woods, the little victim squeaking in his clutches. Shocking. My first thought was, could this have been the same little wren I released earlier? I concluded it was not, based on the pile of grey feathers in the grass where they had landed. Still, I felt sadness for the sudden demise of the little bird, although I understand it is part of life right now. Then I wondered, was this the same hawk I encountered at the end of the driveway last week? Very likely could have been. I see and hear hawks all around our property, fairly regularly.
God has created a beautiful, wild world for us to enjoy, and sometimes, we are given the opportunity to experience it up close and personal. The little wren in my hands, the large, powerful hawk in front of me. Both display the beauty and power of our God. For now, this is a fallen world, where attack and defense, tooth and claw, are a part of life. A day is coming, however, when "the wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together;" and the hawk will perch on my hand, next to the wren.

Today was an absolutely beautiful day for March. Sunny, wispy clouds overhead, temps in the upper 60s. I rode the motorbike to the office, praying and worshiping as I rode in. I had three amazing encounters during the day, that reminded me of the nearness of God. As I finished breakfast, I glanced out to our backyard, and saw four deer, grazing on our grass, with the sun rising through the woods behind them. I whispered, "Thank you Father, for this morning gift", and loaded up for work.
I came home during lunch to check on the dogs, and enjoyed a leisurely walk down our long driveway with them. The sun was bright and warm, a slight breeze was wafting through the trees, and I savored the moments before once again saddling up to go back to the office. As I rolled to the end of the driveway on the bike, I noticed a large red tail hawk right in front of me, perched on a telephone line over our mailbox. I stopped, watching to see what he would do, and he just sat there, moving his head from side to side, eye-balling me as I was him. I again whispered, "Thank you Father for this moment in time, shared with this exquisite creature you have made!" As I rode off, he remained, watching me pull away.
Later this evening, as I talked on the phone with my friend Aaron, I heard something unusual outside, so I walked out into the moon-lit driveway. I heard in the pines over my head the tell-tale "whoo-whoo, whoo-whoo, whoo" of not one, but three owls, calling to each other across the trees. Transfixed, I held my phone up for Aaron to hear, which he could, but barely. To my naked ear, they were up close and personal, almost right above me. It was awe-inspiring. I told Aaron I'd have to call him back, and I spent the next ten minutes, standing out front, under the moon and trees, listening to these three owls make music to my ears. Even the dogs sat in silence, looking skyward, listening as well. Again I whispered, "Thank you Father, for another indescribable gift tonight. I love you."
Life has become so busy it seems, and I have become so distracted, I have begun to lose sight of the little "hints of Heaven, glimpses of glory" God has placed throughout His creation, all around me. Even when I'm riding my motorcycle, which has always been a personal retreat on wheels for me, I've begun to focus on riding techniques I've been studying, practicing cornering, shifting, etc., all good things. Today reminded me to drink in the scenery all around, to get my "head on a swivel, eyes outside the cockpit" to use a fighter pilot phrase, and enjoy God in His creation again.
As we finish up our "Wonderful Outlaw" series in RockiTown this Sunday, getting to know the incredible personality of Jesus, I will communicate that we must return to simply loving Jesus- in worship, in His Word, and in His world. To quote John Eldredge from the book we based our series on, "I am making a practice of loving Jesus. Loving him for who he really is. The Jesus who gave us the oceans and rivers. Who gave us laughter. Who served up 908 bottles of wine to Cana."
And who gave me four deer, three owls, one hawk, and a couple of four-legged furry companions to enjoy it all with today.
Thank you Father. I love you too.