Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Dear God,

The baby robin died. This was the second time she had fallen from her nest. She was the biggest of the five birds born just a couple weeks ago. Although just a few inches below the nest, we think she died from the cold.

The pair of robins made their nest in my grandchildren's wooden play set in their backyard. My daughter and her family were intrigued by the beautiful process of making a nest, laying eggs, sitting on the nest, hatching the eggs, and feeding their young. They've watched this creative activity from the beginning. They know any day now the new birds will try out their wings. They will fly away, never returning to their first home.

My granddaughters have been blessed to witness the marvel of creation. They have loved the mother bird and every time they went to check on the nest, they always talked to the mother bird, assuring her that they would not harm her eggs and then her babies. She would squawk, letting them know she was watching.

The survival of the fittest has always troubled me. Seems to me everyone and everything needs an equal shot at life. In a perfect world that's the way it works. But our world is far from perfect. The inequities of our world are great. Some get a shot at life and then later die of starvation. I've always been saddened. I try to help where I can; however, my small pittance won't save a life. In this process of survival, I have to ask myself the hard and real question: How much am I willing to sacrifice to save a life?

I watched a three year old girl die of malaria in Africa. A $10 net would have saved her life. How much am I willing to sacrifice to save a life?

I long
to live your way,
yet I am selfish,
unwilling
to share
all I have
with others.
I do share,
but not my all.
Dear God,
teach me
how to sacrifice
for others.

Love, Andrea