Hawk Watch

My friend Debbie is a bird person ... she feeds them, she watches them, she knows all the different kinds. Many times when I'm on the phone with her, she'll tell me what kind of bird she sees in her back yard. For as much as Debbie is a bird person, I have never been fascinated or captivated by any winged creatures. Now having said that, I find it more than interesting that over the last year or so, God has consistently directed my attention to the fowl part of His creation in order to teach me some huge lessons ... you who are avid readers of this blog will probably recall several previous posts regarding some of those feathery encounters.

For the last several weeks, walkers, bikers and runners along the trail have stopped and looked up into a certain tree that sits very near the path. It's a tallish pine tree of some sort, and it has become home to a family of red-tailed hawks (someone told me that's what they were ... I would have never known on my own). Those of us who frequent the trail on an almost daily basis have watched as a male and female hawk built a large nest in the top of the tree. Then we watched as the male would swoop down to capture prey which he would carry to the nest atop the tree to feed his mate. And most recently, we have watched as the three young hawks that were hatched in the nest began to make their way out to perch on the surrounding branches of the pine tree.

I went for a very early morning walk today, leaving Ollie at home snuggled in my bed with his big buddy Julie. We were awake a lot last night because of stormy weather, so the hounds were extra sleepy this morning. I, on the other hand, woke up early with a throbbing shoulder and decided I might as well go for a walk to take my mind off of the pain. The tree with the hawk family isn't far from where I get on the path to begin my walk, and this morning, I heard them before I saw them ... even with my headphones on and my music blaring in my ears. The three young hawks were sitting on two branches, two on a lower branch and one on a branch above his siblings. I stood there for several minutes gazing upward, wondering what they were squawking so loudly about and wishing I had my camera. I eventually moved on and walked for about an hour, and I was surprised to see the hawks in exactly the same spot when I passed the tree on my way home.

Finding my dogs still snoozing, I grabbed my camera and headed back over to the trail to snap some pictures of the young chirpers as they sat in the tree. Several people stopped to gaze at the hawks and to ask if I was getting good shots of them. Deciding that I had enough pictures to choose from, I turned to head back home, anxious to load the photos of the hawks onto my computer. As I walked, I kept thinking about the hawks ... those little baby hawks didn't care at all that I was taking pictures of them; they didn't care that other people were stopping to watch them; they didn't care about anything except maintaining their balance on the branches of the tree that held their home. They weren't trying to impress me or anyone else ... they were simply being what God made them to be ... baby red-tailed hawks sitting in a tree in Kansas on a Sunday morning in June.

My feathered lesson of the day? The truth God wanted me to glean this morning? I need to be who He made me to be ... I need to stop focusing on what others see in me and train my heart and my eyes on Him and Him alone ... I need to rest in His plan and purpose for my life ... I need to sit on the branch of His love and be who He made me to be.