Hope is the thing with feathers...

Our family has had some very discouraging experiences lately.  And at times things felt hopeless...  It was easy to react to circumstances around us and become depressed.  But that is not the natural state of a God-follower, and the Lover of our souls thrills to show us a better way.  For me, He delights in surprising me with the gift of a feather.  Yesterday, He partnered with Chris (and a few birds) to remind us of some important truths.

Allow me to share our little story with you:

Cooper's Hawk

Chris and I were looking out the kitchen window yesterday morning, and saw a bird stalking something.  

Perspective from that window is difficult at times, because the backyard is large, and it took a moment to realize it was a Cooper’s hawk; we hadn't recognized the massive size of the bird until we began comparing it to objects near it--it was at least a foot tall when standing.  

We couldn't see what it was hunting, but it was intent, swooping from branch to branch, standing still, listening.  Eventually, we went on about our business, ignoring the bird.  After all, we were overwhelmed with life.

Our Hope Feather

Later in the day, Chris felt compelled to walk into the backyard; he felt that there was a feather waiting for me.  He walked blindly to where the hawk had been, as he felt directed, and there was ONE feather sitting there.  As he picked it up, he felt that it signified hope.

He relayed his experience as he gave me the feather. He was certain it was from the hawk we had seen.  

I Googled hawk feathers, and it looked similar, but not quite.  I figured there had to be some relationship between this feather and the hawk, so I continued to read and learn about the Cooper's Hawk.  I learned that it preys on smaller birds…such as this bird...

 

Red-bellied Woodpecker (don't ask me why it's red-bellied, when its head is redder than its belly)

 ...whose tail feathers look just like our hope feather!

Red-bellied Woodpecker feathers

And then I began worrying.  Did the hawk totally maul this bird?  So I went into the backyard; looked around.  There were NO OTHER feathers.  I had seen pictures on the internet of what those hawks did to birds--utter carnage!  There was NO WAY the woodpecker had been killed, at least not here in our yard.

Back inside, I researched the woodpeckers.  They tend to forage for bugs in dead and formerly healthy trees, and are pivotal in halting the Emerald Ash Borer, removing up to 85% of the larvae from an infected tree.  So basically, they remove evil and allow health to flourish.

A predator was after it…but it appears the only damage it did was to remove a single tail feather.

 

A feather, fully plucked from a bird, can be re-grown in two weeks.

So this bird, his life threatened, thinking perhaps that this was the end…he simply lost a tail feather.  That’s how ineffective his enemy was.

I relayed this to Chris.  His “hope” feather was indeed true.  It was telling us that the enemy may hunt us, and we may feel as if our life is all but lost…but at that desperate moment, all we might lose is a tail feather…something easily re-grown.  We cannot be defeated.

We forget that our experiences, which can be pleasant or painful, are not what defines our state of being.  We are called to be MORE THAN the sum of our experiences; instead of simply reacting to life, we are to move in our lives and the lives of others as a FORCE for good.  We are to be little red-bellied woodpeckers, gently removing the bad so healthy growth can occur...and when we are attacked, we can relax in the unseen forces around us, protecting us, lifting us, carrying us to safety.

Yes, we may lose a tail feather every now and then.  We may even feel like a plucked Thanksgiving turkey, but the enemy is ineffective and will ultimately lose.  When we feel like life is overwhelming us, as if wave after wave is crashing into us...as if we are facing a tsunami...we have HOPE.  Something so strong, so firm, so secure, that no storm can destroy it!