There once was a little girl named Honey.
Honey lived in a little cottage on the edge of a beautiful forest.
One day she was wandering in the woods behind her home and came across a wounded little canary. Gently picking up the bird she whispered comfort to it and named the canary Birdie.
She placed Birdie in a cage and faithfully took care of it. She fed the canary nice little seeds and often sang to it each night.
One weekend, Honey took Birdie out on an adventure. Placing Birdie’s cage on a rock right near a flowing stream, she began to look for pretty stones to add to her collection.
Meantime, how was Birdie doing during all this?
Delighted to be cared for, Birdie was yet disturbed about being caged.
This certainly was not what he had been made for! True, he was injured, but even injured birds did things. As he watched the flowing stream gurgle past his cage, he became distressed. Hopping to the side of the cage, he pecked at the bars. Why couldn’t he just step out the door? True, the edge dropped directly to the water, but he had wings …didn’t he??
Why must these bars hold him in so?
The next day, Birdie and Honey went to the woods and Birdie was placed in a nice nook by some raspberry bushes. Honey explored far and wide, but never lost sight of her little feathered friend.
But for Birdie it was another story.
Pleased to be outside again, he was yet annoyed that he must still be so secluded. This certainly wasn’t his idea of flying. Or living, as a bird. His wings? Oh, yes. That’s true. They needed healing, but couldn’t he do that out in the open without a cage barring him in?
When a cat passed by, Birdie didn’t even see it. Instead, his gaze was fixed on the bars of his cage.
Honey was a sweet friend, he could see that. But this? Why would she put him in a cage?
Weeks passed. Birdie’s wings continued to heal, and while he sometimes struggled with the confines of his home, he began to appreciate Honey’s care more and more.
Perhaps living in a cage wasn’t too bad, after all.
Finally, after two months, Birdie and Honey went on a long hike up a hill behind Honey’s home. Once they reached the top, Honey placed Birdie’s cage on top of an old table she had lugged up there earlier that morning.
With a smile, she withdrew the key to the cage and whispered to her friend. “Birdie, it’s time to fly.”
With a surprised look, Birdie trilled a little melody. Really? Was it time to spread his wings?
The door opened with a soft click, and Honey let Birdie climb onto her fingers. Lifting up her hand she smiled.
And with an unfolding of his healed wings, Birdie flew.
“He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” Isaiah 40:29-31
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