A Little Moment of Grace

Yesterday afternoon, after a hectic morning of piano lessons and various errands, Will, Ed and I sat down to a late lunch/early supper before we headed out the door again. As we ate cold chicken, veggies and cottage cheese we watched the birds coming and going at the feeder outside. House finches, goldfinches and chickadees entertained us with their antics, flitting to and fro from feeder to honeysuckle bush and back.

A cardinal came, too. Decked out in his scarlet uniform and fine crest, he cut a handsome figure as he plucked seed after seed from the feeder. Not long after he arrived, a female cardinal flew in and settled on a branch of the nearby magnolia tree. We watched the pair, remarking on the contrast of their colors. Suddenly the male flew to the branch and gave the female what appeared to be a kiss. He flew back to the feeder and again to the female and "kissed" her again! Back to the feeder. Back to his mate.

"I think he's feeding her!" I said with astonishment.

Ed grabbed the binoculars, looked and said, "He is! I see her opening her mouth!" He passed the glasses to me, and I then passed them to Will. Sure enough the male was feeding his mate - a ritual we had never witnessed before at our feeders. We were blessed to see the hand of God in this little act.


Later in the day, I drove Will and Ed to Belgrade for Ed's baseball game. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon - warm, but breezy enough to keep the black flies at bay. Fine weather for baseball.

We arrived about forty minutes early. Will wanted to play catch with Ed and help him field better balls in the dirt at first base. I watched with a full heart as my two sons, who most of the time are rivalling each other in everything, pass balls to one another - one son dressed in the bright red of his Sidney team with his red cap pulled low against the sun. I could not help but think of the two cardinals at our feeder earlier that day.

The older son helping the younger son. Still the hand of God was clear to be seen in brothers really being brothers.