Last month I wrote you about a true story that happened on our farm. This story has been taken from the book Tales from Heritage Farm by Randall and Wenda Grabau.
The main characters are two young children, a homemaking mom, a German shepherd named Sam and a little bird. We left the story as one little girl came running into the farmhouse kitchen yelling to her mother.
Let us continue reading and discover what happens next in the story called… Sam and the Sparrow.
Sam and the Sparrow
A short while had passed when little Bretta came bounding into the kitchen breathlessly. “Mommy, Mommy, Sam has a bird in his mouth!”
Now, I knew for an historical fact that Sam took peculiar delight in chasing chickens. “Do you mean he’s got a chicken in his mouth?” I questioned.
“No, Mommy, Sam has a bird in his mouth,” she answered.
So, I wiped my hands dry on a hand towel and hurried out of the house behind Bretta. We raced down the hill to the milk house. There was Tonya on her knees beside Sam. And there was Sam looking at me (guilt written all over his face) with some telltale feathers sticking out of his mouth.
“Sam!” I shouted sternly. “Drop that bird!”
Now Sam has his faults, but he did try to comply, so he obeyed. He opened up his mouth and let a little sparrow tumble down onto the grassy earth.
In my heart I was afraid to look at the victim. Would it be a bloody, mangled mess? Maybe it would be some dead thing for me to bury. I could see the concern and upset on young Tonya’s face. I thought, “I’d better keep my cool here. Don’t get excited. Calm down,” I said to myself, “Be hopeful. Put on a good front. The girls need to see you strong.” I prayed in my heart, “Lord, help!”
Upon closer examination I saw there on the grass, a saliva-covered, feathery creature. Its little eye was blinking up at me in terror over the ordeal.
Tonya moved in to pick it up. “No, Honey,” I cautioned. “He may be very exhausted. Just let him rest a while.”
I rolled the bird over to inspect his delicate legs. I was hoping that they were not broken. They looked fine, so I thanked God for His mercy.
While we looked at the wee bird, Sam knew his exit was called for so, tail between his legs, he padded away to find a safer pastime.
Meanwhile, I waited, hoping for the miraculous. I told Tonya and Bretta that God was thinking about this very sparrow. “The Bible says that God’s eye is on the sparrow. Not one falls without Him knowing about it,” I explained.
As I was telling them this truth, their eyes glued on me, I heard a fluttery whoosh right by my head. I looked down at the ground for the sparrow. It had disappeared! He had been helped by our great God who was watching over him.
“Praise the Lord!” I shouted. We clapped our hands and jumped for joy. Our little friend, the bird, had found a perch in the crabapple tree and was feeling much better.
Tonya and Bretta witnessed God’s power and mercy that day with me. They heard the truth about how much our Heavenly Father cares for His creatures. How good He was that day to teach these little ones that important lesson and to let me learn it again myself.
As the tractor rumbled on in the fields, preparing the soil for our seed and the hoped-for harvest, I realized that my husband was not the only one with that privilege. I, too, was able to plant seed in the soil, the soil of the children’s hearts, and hope for the bountiful harvest that God may one day give.
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