Life can unexpectedly drop a mystery into your day.

One such situation took me by surprise on an early summer morning.  Sticking to my usual routine, I was gearing up for the work day while sipping an extra hot cup of coffee.

Suddenly, I heard a noise coming from outside the house.  It was a fast, bumpy sound, like the clangor sneakers make tumbling in the dryer.

With a few loud planes also flying overhead, I didn’t give it too much thought.  Not long after I returned to my steaming cup, the strange sound returned.  It was louder this time.

While I am no Sherlock Holmes in the making, I sheepishly went outside to investigate, but found nothing suspicious.

All was well.

So with greater intention, I made my way back inside to finish breakfast.

However, before reaching the kitchen table, I distinctly heard the muffling noise loud and clear.  It was surely coming from the area along the right side of the house.

Was it a squirrel? Raccoon?

To play it safe, I went upstairs and found the best spot to look down into the problematic area.  As a cat came sauntering by, the noise suddenly sprang up from the ground.  Wanting no part of it, the cat took off.

My turn.  Mustering a scare-crow’s courage, I ventured back outside and grabbed one of my garbage can covers for protection.

Following the sounds, I realized that something fairly large was trapped inside the drain gutter of the house and was desperately trying to get out.  A large rubber cap tightly affixed to cover the drain’s bottom was preventing its escape.

Wasting no time, I pulled the bottom cover off with the hardest yank I could.  It only partly came off on the first try.  Thankfully, the space was large enough for the crest of two adult blue jays to pop out and begin pushing their way out.

With another hard tug – I was able to set both birds free!

Happy with the successful rescue, I wondered how the birds got stuck …

One could certainly have fallen down the drain – but two?  These are highly intelligent birds.

Doing a bit of research on blue jays revealed that they are incredibly loyal creatures, and mate for life.  I love watching blue jays brave the cold winter days, and with their piercing blue and white plumage, listen to their chattering calls.

One bird must have fallen first, and the other followed in pursuit of protecting its mate in guardian fashion.  Watching the blue jays take their place again in the sky, I remembered what Christ taught us.

He said,

“Not one sparrow falls to the ground outside of the Father’s care.”

These harbingers of joy beautifully symbolized the depth of God’s love.

After all, it was a blue jay that landed on Elijah’s shoulder as a reminder that God was with him.  And as the Book of Job attests, a blue Jay represents hope, and a call to remain hopeful when all seems lost.

The apostle Peter learned this first hand after falling into a stormy sea.

That is, no matter how difficult the situation may be, our eyes must stay fixed on Christ alone.

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”
(2 Timothy 1:7).

The faithful fisherman’s walk on the water’s surface ended only after he took his eyes off Christ and centered on the storm.

May the story of the two rescued blue jays serve as a reminder that God uses the world to reveal Himself, and his Incarnational love that is beyond our knowing.

In Christ – we are never alone.