“Be still and know that I am God!” Psalm 46:10
There is a Mourning
Dove sitting on a nest in the pine trees beside the patio in my back yard. It is fairly low to the ground so I’ve been
able to watch her easily. The nest was built like lettuce in a sandwich; where
two thick, lush branches almost touch. The
nest itself is a motley collection of sticks and roots with very little
structure. They have simply been piled together to create a rough platform no bigger
than the bird herself.
The pine boughs gives her plenty of shelter from
the rain and camouflage from any egg hungry birds or raccoons. She’s been sitting
on the eggs for a while so it shouldn’t be long before babies show up.
I wonder if she
enjoys listening to the little waterfall that burbles into the pond as much as
I do. Does it help pass the time?
I am also impressed
by the stoic patience such labour requires. The sole focus of her existence is
caring for the precious eggs. Nothing interferes with that purpose, not even me
working in the garden beneath her.
What fascinates me
the most is her stillness, her focus on simply being.
Yet, the nest was built and the eggs were laid
in precise alignment with her purpose: to make more Mourning Doves, her legacy.
I bet, when she
started, she wasn’t thinking about the labour ahead or the long wait.
If anything, it’s a
lesson I could well use in my own life.
Be still.
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