MOORE — About a month ago we stopped feeding the birds in our backyard.
Although we enjoyed feeding the cardinals, blue jays, sparrows and turtle doves; the wild little brown birds swarmed down upon us in groups of 100 or more, creating a mini version of Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds.”
The cardinals started coming at dusk, chirping their friendly “hello,” asking for food.
Never fear, waiting like vultures on the tree tops, those little brown birds watched us toss out the bird seed and the ground was covered with brown-feathered monsters, chasing away our beautiful red cardinals.
Today when the cardinal showed up we waited … and watched … to make sure there weren’t any wild birds. After all, it had been more than 30 days since we had regularly fed the birds — we should be safe.
To our surprise, as soon as the birdseed hit the dirt the brown birds invaded our yard and gobbled up the birdseed.
The poor little cardinals didn’t stand a chance against the multitude of predators – the tiny wild birds.
An hour later when it looked like the coast was clear, we stepped outside, birdseed in hand and poured it on the ground. Then we watched, waiting for those little beasts to dare show themselves while we stood guard.
Amazingly, none had the courage to face us. We stepped back into the house and from the sliding glass door watched the cardinals come and eat their fill.
Before they left they chirped loudly; we were certain in bird language they were expressing their thanks for the food and for watching out for them so they could enjoy the feast.
Every day we encounter predators, those nasty people whose very goal in life seems to be stealing our joy. They know just how to get to us and push the right buttons with ease. Anything to rob us of our peace and make our lives miserable. When they succeed, they are jubilant; they’ve ruined our day and couldn’t be happier.
But when we whisper a prayer for help, Our Heavenly Father, who lovingly watches from above, takes the predators by the collar and tosses them aside. We can just hear what He’s telling them: “That’s my child and I’ve had enough of you tormenting them. Be gone. Now.”
Suddenly all is peace, and Our Heavenly Father smiles; happy to intervene for us once again because He loves us.
Wanda Billbe is a regular contributor to The Moore American.
