Friday 4 November 2011

To be like a Lovebird

“To dwell above with the saints in love – that will be glory!  
To dwell below with the saints I know – that’s another story.” 
A. J. Raitt

This quote is taken from a little book I have been reading, with short stories about church members. Mainly about the mistakes Christians make. Mistakes that actually apply to all of us, all of the time not just in church. And the lessons from this book can be applied at work, at home with our family and life in general. Relationships are the chemistry of life and sometimes we ruin both by our wrong impressions and our cloudy outlook of other people. My friendly smile will receive a warm welcome reaction and a genuine friendship will break through. A frown or angry face? that's too many wrinkles in just a few minutes.

So the writer uses eight different birds to describe our behavior, I have taken some of the birds from his book and some of the writers descriptions (can’t give it all away) and added some of my own little ‘nuggets’ because I am a very keen birdwatcher (both kinds of birds) so let me introduce you to some of them....

Straight-laced Nitpicker
Related to the vulture family, it is noted for its ability to spot flaws from a great distance. This bird sees everything in one tone or hue (monochromatic vision) and it is easily recognised by the beam in its eye, the bird has other handicaps too. 
Yes we know people like this, the ones that comment and find faults in everything you do but they just can’t do any better. Very irritating and discouraging.

Jaded Pew-warmer
The knowledgeable bird watcher will find this bird quickly. This bird can only be seen at special times, it has a limited range of habitat, it is almost never found at prayer meeting but can easily be seen in the car park during sermons and other occasions. 
Mmm that’s a special bird, maybe we have all done this before...just sit and never participate.

Teenaged Twitterpate
Colourful plumage and constant twittering, always in pairs. Population declining because of the Straight-laced Nitpickers. This bird can be mistaken for Jaded Pew-warmer and sometimes behaves the same but it is quite different. The plumage and twittering is part of elaborate ‘courtship’ dance.
Other birds need to tread carefully around this bird or it will fly away quickly!

Duck-billed Platitude
Immediately recognised by its loud call, high sounding with hollow ring to it.  It is not a true bird (more like a chicken) but is found in the company of Nitpickers and Pew-warmers. It occurs commonly in special functions and sermons for some reason. And Teenaged Twitterpates prey on it constantly.
Boring bird like the name suggests, its stale has nothing nice to say or do!


Lovebird
Well known for its colour, love, joy, peace, beautiful song, gentle and meek. This species does not occur naturally. Each Lovebird must be individually reared, hand held and perfected over the years. A more exact description is difficult to give, since Lovebirds have been successfully developed from each of the species listed above. Variation exists at each stage of development. It should be noted that the Creator of this remarkable bird has been described as a dove, a mother hen, an eagle caring for its young.
Wow! We should all strive to become like Lovebirds.

I looked in my bird book and this is what it says about Lovebirds  - lovable and affectionate birds. They make a strong bond with both their breeders and owners and the relation is lifelong. Their name also suggests their lovely nature. They like attention, hence, they are kept in pairs and spend their whole day chattering and twittering with their partner. They can also mimic human voice and love to kiss. 

Lovebird – us humans. Lovely Nature. Strong bond with owner – strong bond with God. Relation is lifelong! 
We should all be more like Lovebirds, happy with each other’s company and loving more instead of fighting. 

*sigh*

If only....


2 comments:

  1. What a beautiful post! Especially because i love birds too and can watch them for hours!

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  2. LOVELY POST AND SO TRUE! We do tend to be a bit of everyting. Aiming for the love bird!

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