Running From Mistakes

      One summer our family adopted a blue jay fledgling.  It took a while for us to figure out what to feed him to keep him alive which happened to be oats fed with a dropper.  The children kept him in their bedroom, and sometimes they let him fly free in the house. We named him Dirty Bird. One day when we went to visit a friend in the country, we took him with us.  The children put his cage on a picnic table while the adults went inside to visit. While they waited, one of them decided Dirty Bird needed some exercise.  After his cage door was opened, he flew out into a tree.  No amount of coaxing could get him to come down.  Since we had to leave, we left the cage with the door open on the picnic table.  Later our friend reported that for several days Dirty Bird returned to his cage.  Sometimes he would even land on her shoulder.  Until one day, he never came back.  He had a new home flying free in the country.

Running From Mistakes 

A young man ran away from home.

He had skipped school and not alone.

Instead of facing his parents who care,

He took off to who knows where.

While he was gone, he had second thoughts,

And remembered a story his mother had taught.

How God put the stars and moon in the sky.

Also, He made the birds in the air to fly.

His Son was crucified and died for our sins.

No greater love has there ever been.

Tears overflowed from the young man's eyes.

The magnitude of his mistake he began to realize.

So, he headed back home to those he loved,

and prayed for forgiveness to God up above.

                                  Patricia Westbrook

"Shun evil counsel - My son, hear the instruction of your father, and do not forsake the law of your mother."  (Proverbs 1:8, NKJV).