A Miracle at Highcroft
I have been studying and practicing to be a more centred person, one who doesn’t go to extreme highs and extreme lows and guess what, I actually thought I was getting the hang of this!
So when Esmari, my assistant at Highcroft, came to tell me that our Caninde Macaw babies had chewed a hole in the aviary roof and two had flown away, I sort of forgot the faking, forgot the practicing and let the insane fear that take over. The most important things in my life were flying out there somewhere. As fickle humans do, I prayed fervently for assistance, for when a big bird flies it could cover huge distances in a short space of time. So my logic took over and not my inner knowing that the Master was in charge.
We started the long slow process of walking from one end of the farm to the other, calling the babies and trying hard to call the birds in a normal voice, so they wouldn’t pick up how scared and panicked we really felt.
With great difficulty I remembered to notice the beauty around me.. a red Canna, the peace and coolness of the river as I waded upstream , the wild birds staying close and their constant chatter near to me. I implored them to go and find my babies. But Nothing, No thing answered back.
When I returned to the yard one Caninde baby yelled from the highest part of a tree trying hard to get to me. After much coaxing and an offer of her favourite food, she flew down to me. Now one was safe.
I then surrendered to the Master, “Thank you for my one baby. If it is Your will, please ensure that if the other baby isn’t coming home, please let him not suffer.’
I had no idea of the magnitude of the Master’s divine plan.
As I entered the house the answering machine was beeping. A call from a friend in Port Shepstone, who had received a call from her sister in Pumula, a village that lies across a river 4 kms away. She had seen a Blue and Yellow bird flying around.
With the greatest speed we took off so relieved that in this world of miracles, the Master may again have orchestrated the return of this second most precious bird. It was no co-incidence that someone unknown to us, had phoned exactly the right person who knew that I bred birds in the area. This was the first part of the miracle !
Arriving in Pumula, it seemed that no one knew anything. After desperate searching, we came across THE house where the bird had last been seen. But the people were out and there were huge dogs on patrol.
All the time I was trying to stay calm, to allow my own inner voice to lead me where I needed to go. But gosh that has got to be the hardest thing in the world. THIS you can’t fake, if you have fear, you have no ability to use the senses and the inner voice we all have within us.
But somehow the Master seemed to get through the mist to me. I followed some path through some empty piece of ground to some part of the world I had never been. Panic took over again as the lady who had first spotted the bird phoned me. I cried and talked loudly to her and as I was saying,’ I don’t know what else to do!’, the amazing shout of a Caninde macaw came from right above me. I still remember her voice,’ It appears you found your bird.’ I stood humbled by the amazing people around me.
Again with coaxing and love and with Esmari half way up a noxious knobby thorn tree, our beloved child flew down.
So with all the joy of a parent having found their lost children, we slept well that night, giving thanks to the Great Master who rules this world. I realize that whenever I doubt His love, I am again remindedto notice these enormous acts of Love and know that a Higher force rules.
This would appear to be the end of the story. The following night a call from another friend ‘Have you by any chance lost a bird?’ ‘Robbie I would have said yes yesterday but they are all home safe and sound.’. He proceeded to describe a Blue and Yellow Macaw with a ring on it’s leg and MY code on the ring. This bird had flown onto the balcony of a holiday home in Umzumbe, a village 4 kms away in the opposite direction. I rushed to Umzumbe and lo and behold, there was another Caninde baby sitting in their lounge. Panic, fear, joy, pain – whatever other feeling you can imagine- coursed through me as again we rushed home with one hungry baby, to check if the aviary roof had again been chewed open.
We searched every inch of every aviary. NO escape hatch. We had miscounted the babies. Three not two birds escaped. It is my belief that in His Mercy we so called‘forgot’ the numbers of our birds. Without me begging, without fear and panic, the Master in all his mercy still returned the last baby. And I think that I AM in control of my world.
The following morning I woke to see two exquisite rainbows right above the retreat – a sign. Noah sent birds out of the ark THREE times, to test if the floods had abated (GENESIS 7:15 verse 9,12) ‘And God said: ‘This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you (in the ARK), a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between Me and the earth.’
Thank you, thank you, thank you.