It was very quiet this morning when I went to the street for the morning paper. It was quiet except for a family of cardinals. Mom and dad and three adult-sized young ones were all over the yard while having a full blown conversation. They were celebrating. This was not the first attempt for this mom and dad. Earlier in the summer we were watching them raise three only to have them taken by who knows what. The couple tried again. Again they lost their babies. The third time was a charm. In the words of Dora the Explorer, “They did it.” What a happy lot they were this morning.
Loss is a part of life. We never really own anything. We just get to use things for a while. It is the same with people. For a while we get to be with them, we get to love them, but they will ultimately go away. Or if we are fortunate we will be the first to go away. Emily Dickenson once wrote, “Parting is all we know of heaven and all we need of hell.”
However, I do not wish to dwell upon loss. I want to join my cardinal family and rejoice at their persistence and ultimate success. Oh, that we all should have such fortitude. I do not know if they suffered grief over the loss of two families. What I do know is they kept trying and to great success. This morning there were streaks of red throughout the yard as they experienced life to its fullest. As we age some of us realize our strongest times are history but ultimate strength is yet to come. It is so grand to know Jesus. He makes all the difference.
Written by Roger Bothwell on August 18, 2010
Spring of Life Ministry, PO Box 124, St. Helena, CA 94574
Rogerbothwell.org