The random thoughts of a Christian parrot
When I was a young bird, full of energy and bravado, I did something rather foolish. In fact, you could call me “The Prodigal Parrot.” Because early one morning, before my owner had got out of bed, I picked the lock of my cage with my beak, and then squeezed out of a small fanlight window, and disappeared into the big world outside. It was around two hours later when my owner got up, that he discovered I was missing.
To begin with, I had a wonderful time! Oh yes, I did lots of zippy flying. I went high into the tops of trees. I tried gnawing twigs, branches, foliage and anything else I could get my beak on. I even tried “skiing” down some slippery roof-top tiles with my extra-large feet. And I made a lot of noise too, squawking and screeching in pure delight.
But as the morning progressed, things began to change. It suddenly started raining. And then the rain became really heavy, and developed into a thunderstorm. I perched, cold and drenched, in the top of a tree, praying that I wouldn’t get struck by a bolt of lightning. As for the thunder, I’d never been out in anything like that before, and the noise terrified me. It was like the end of the world!
Things got worse. I was riding out the storm huddled up when an aggressive Crow swooped down into my tree and landed nearby. It looked at me with surprise and then started hopping menacingly in my direction. Despite my sodden state, I had no choice but to try to fly and then bury myself in some denser foliage. And I proceeded to spend a very long time feeling frightened and miserable.
Unknown to me, my owner and his family had been searching everywhere for me. Eight hours had passed. Neighbours, friends and even the local police were all involved. Until!
Until I suddenly heard my owner’s special call for me. And I shrieked it back for all I was worth. My owner kept calling, and then I finally saw him, far down below me on the ground. In my excitement, I fell out of the tree and swooped down, landing on his head. And I can’t begin to tell you how great our joy was at being reunited. From a position of being totally lost and alone and in utter despair, I was safely reunited with the human that loves and cares for me.
And since that day, I have never flown away, even when my owner leaves the doors and windows open or takes me out into the garden on his shoulder.
And you know, this is exactly how it is in Heaven when someone here upon Earth strays off the Christian path, but eventually returns. There is so much worry and concern for the person that is lost. For the person that has gone astray and suffers as a result. But when they return to the fold again, wiser for their experience, then all Heaven rejoices. Because even when we don’t realise it, every single one of us matters dearly to God. We were all born as a part of God’s family, and that’s exactly where we need to stay - for our own safety and well-being.
