I know that we need the “Circle of Life” to exist in nature.
I know that what is predator today, may be prey tomorrow.
And I know that’s just how it is.
This afternoon I was picking up some OSU masks that my friend, Carol Nash, so artfully made.
We were talking outside her home, she on the porch and I in her yard. I noticed little birds flying in and out of her shrubbery. She said they liked to gather there. We smiled and nodded. The thought of birds congregating made me happy.
I left minutes later and as I was nearing my car I saw what I’m certain was a hawk flying low and then rising with a little bird in its talons. It had taken advantage of the moment when we had both walked away from the gathering site and swooshed in to find its vulnerable prey.
I stood at my car immobilized …
as I watched the hawk power through the space between me and its landing spot. I felt sick to my stomach. I heard myself whimper. And I couldn’t help it, I started to cry.
I will never be able to witness the vulnerable being overpowered by the strong and the wily. Never. It is the stuff of my nightmares.
I know it happens. I know it is survival. I know it is nature in action. My grandfather was a hunter and he was the kindest, gentlest man. I loved him deeply. But that doesn’t help me right now, one bit.
I felt helpless to help. And I hate that feeling.
Immediately I thought of the world all around me, how it is broken into uneven groups of the vulnerable and the powerful. And I think of my place in it. Being sick to my stomach is not enough.
All around there are opportunities to intervene, to reach out, to make a difference, to help the helpless.
What can I do right now that will make a difference?
How can I hold my own actions accountable?
Lord, help me to reach out more, judge less, fear less, and act more on behalf of those who cannot.
Let me never harden my heart to the needs of others, for this is your urging for me to do my part.
Around the Table 