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September02, 2005 - "A Flower Unseen" >> |
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"I Believe in You!"
A message of Hope, stories from the
road.
By Bob Perks
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Hello, my friend!
I have a new story on BeliefNet. Click or
copy and paste this link to get there.
Good Day, my friends all around this incredible
world!
I do hope you are making the best of the gifts you are
given.
My special thanks to all of you who have taken the steps
to join me in "My Ministry of the Heart."
You make it all possible, my friends. For that I am
eternally grateful.
Make it a great week!
Bob and Marianne
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Perks Pearl of Wisdom
"Don't underestimate the power of one. It is all it
takes to generate change.
One step begins a journey. One drop can create
an ocean. One touch can prove you care."
Bob Perks
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All stories copyright 2005 Bob Perks
Today's Message:
"Perhaps a Gift"
by Bob Perks
Most of the others had already gone. Dusk was
settling in and the skies were partly
cloudy offering very little light from the moon. She
stayed right where she was for the
longest time only moving whenever another would join
her.
I watched from a distance worried that she would stay too
late. It just wasn't safe
there in the darkness.
I won't even try to explain why this was happening.
I held for the longest time the thought
of the last time I was put in this
predicament and struggled with any deeper hidden meaning in all of
this for me. I would guess most everyone else
would just shrug it all off.
Not me. I often times feel so in touch with life
that it sometimes becomes overwhelming.
Times like this make me both elated and angry.
Elated because I feel like God is
preparing me for something. Angry, because I take it
to heart so much so that I feel
somewhat immature and certainly far from being a "manly"
55 year old male.
Still, I have been this way all of my life. I am
proud of my connections to life itself. I
rejoice in the idea that God trusts me with such
things.
So, why should this time be such a big thing in my life?
Because I saw it as an honor and privilege to be a part of
this. Because I saw it as something bigger.
This may seem all too familiar to you. Perhaps you
will begin to think I am making it all up.
I am not. That, in itself, is why I am convinced
that God is working on me. To what end?
I do not know. But I am keenly aware that He
is.
Perhaps it was simply disbelief that made me keep my
distance. Maybe I was fighting
the need to get involved. Or maybe I was
making something bigger out of simple coincidence.
It was now beginning to get dark. I checked one more
time and thought at first that
everything was all right.
As I was about to return to my home, out of the corner of
my eye, I saw something move.
I walked slowly toward the area and found the small bird
crouched next to the fence.
"Not again," I said quietly.
I began talking to it as I always do. Moving
closer to see if it was injured, I could see that
it
looked perfectly fine. I reached down to try and
touch it, hoping that it would fly away. It
didn't.
I know. This sounds very much like one of my earlier
stories. I really hesitated to
share it with you fearing you might think I'm making all
of this up.
Frankly, I have a hard time believing it, too.
Touching the bird gently, it scampered a few feet and
stopped. This time I squatted nearby.
It actually crawled to me. I mean it came right
toward my feet and stopped, looked up
almost begging for my attention.
I reached down and gently stroked the bird. It
chirped a dull, almost inaudible sound.
In the dimming light I couldn't see what kind of bird
it was so I picked it up. Without
struggle in settled in the palm of my hand.
It was a female cardinal.
I felt this calm come over me. I took my right hand
and gently wrapped my fingers
around the bird so I could hold it closer. She too,
seemed very much at peace.
I heard one more small chirp and I began to rub my left
index finger on her belly. She slowly
turned her head left and right. She appeared to be
an older bird. Her beak was
rough in spots and slightly stained from a long life of
rummaging for food.
Only a few minutes had passed when I realized she wasn't
moving. Touching her
head it slumped to the right. She was
dead.
"Oh, God, thank you!" I whispered looking up.
I walked over to the bench we have in the back yard and
sat there looking at this bird.
I don't know how to describe what I was feeling at the
moment, but I was
completely unaware of anything else around me.
Like a curious child I began speaking to it. "Where
have you been?" I asked.
Can you imagine for a moment the things this bird could
see?
"Tell me of the heights you have reached in your short
life", I continued.
"Where did you come from and how far have you
gone?"
"What's it like up there on a summer's day?"
I could imagine being lifted up by the rising air
currents, diving toward the ground and finally
swooping upward again like an angel without limitations of
gravity.
"Have you had any offspring and a mate that will miss
you?" How silly a question, I thought.
"How silly of me, a grown man, to be sitting here at all
speaking to a dead bird.," I said.
But I thank God for who I am, what I've become and all He
has planned for me.
I'll share another thing with you. I held the bird
up high above my head and asked God,
"Why have you given me this special moment?"
No, I heard nothing in reply.
I sat another minute and then planned on what I would do
with this beautiful creature.
It was now my responsibility, I thought, to not let it lay
somewhere in the open for
some stray cat or other animal to feed
on.
Directly behind where I was seated is a small rock garden
I created a few years ago.
Two tall trellis walls form a back drop to what I always
thought as a peaceful setting. How appropriate.
I picked up one of the smaller flat rocks near the center
and clearing away
some dirt, I placed this special gift from God on its
side.
"Thank you!" I said, as I gently
covered the bird.
I waited for a few minutes before heading inside. I
walked upstairs and into our
bedroom. My wife had already crawled under the
covers watching one of the old
movies on television.
"What's wrong?" she asked. "I can tell by the look
on your face."
I went on to tell her the story. I love her deeply,
but I know she is like
most other people when it comes to things like this.
Her practical side would
be to ask me if I washed my hands. I could almost
hear my mother say,
"You shouldn't be picking up birds. You can get
sick."
Not if God asked me to do it. He
did.
Oh, these sudden encounters with animals might be nothing
at all.
I'd like to think, if nothing else, God
knows how much I appreciate
His creatures. To think He would trust me to hold a
dying cardinal,
that's something else.
"Perhaps a gift."
"I believe in You!" Bob Perks
I encourage you to share my stories with your friends but, when copying I ask that you keep my name and contact information
attached so that new readers can find
their way here. Use of this story for commercial
use is prohibited without direct permission from
the author.
***********************************************
May I Suggest...
Visit my photo album:
Read recent messages:
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Your Comments... If you would like
to share brief comment about today's message, please write to Bob@BobPerks.com I will use only first
names and no email addresses.
**************************************************
"I wish you enough!"
Bob Bob Perks is a professional speaker, author and vocalist. Member National Speakers Association. Visit http://www.BobPerks.com Visit Bob's story site: http://www.IWishYouEnough.com Sign up to receive Bob's free stories sent three times weekly. "I wish you enough!" written by Bob Perks (c) 2001 "I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright. I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun more. I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive. I wish you enough pain so that the smallest joys in life appear much bigger. I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting. I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess. I wish you enough "Hello's" to get you through the final "Goodbye." |
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| << August27, 2005 - "The Big Plan!" |
September02, 2005 - "A Flower Unseen" >> |
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