A Little Bird Named Albert

“There’s a baby bird in the egress window,” my husband said Saturday morning, “and I don’t think it can fly out.”


My daughter and I ran to the basement window to see this for ourselves. Sure enough, the cute little guy sat in the cushion of leaves in the window well. My daughter immediately wanted to save it. Deciding it was a “him,” she named him Albert.

We watched Albert through the window, before doing anything, to see if his mom would come back. And she did.

She didn’t sit in the window with him, but she was never far away. She brought him food and she stood on guard.

She sat on the fence outside my kitchen window while I baked chocolate chip cookies. And she chirped. Over and over. Chirp (pause)…chirp (pause)…chirp.

Albert kept the same chirping rhythm. Chirp (pause)…chirp (pause)…chirp.

We decided they were communicating…
Mom?...I’m right here…Mom?...I’m right here…Mom?
…Albert scared and crying out, while his mom let him know she was there and hadn’t left.

My daughter said it reminded her of when she had an MRI and I stood next to her throughout it, with my hand on her leg. She couldn’t talk or move, but the couple of times I moved my hand, her leg twitched, as if to make sure I was still there. And I rubbed her leg to assure her I hadn’t left.

Throughout the day, we watched Albert as he attempted to fly out…without success.

We wanted to scoop him out, but like his mom, knew that he would eventually fly out on his own. So, we cheered him on.

Again, we realized how the mom-child relationship isn’t all that different. Sometimes, as moms, we can’t rescue our kids, but we can stay close and comfort them.

They will get themselves into predicaments that they have to figure out how to get out of, and all we can do is support them…and love them. So, Albert’s mom stayed.

First thing Sunday morning, we checked through the window. Albert was still there and looked like he’d gotten used to his new surroundings.

I went on to do other things, but received timely updates from my daughter. She was sure he was looking at her through the window. Maybe he was feeling supported and encouraged by her too.

And then…
“Mom, mom! I got to witness it!” she yelled as she ran to find me. “Albert got out!”

And he did. After the night’s rest, he was strengthened and refreshed…and he flew to the edge of the barrier to the window well. We couldn’t help but be proud of the little guy.

We snuck outside and watched as he sat on the edge chirping. Then, we spotted Albert’s mom, with breakfast in her beak, but still able to answer his cries.
Mom?...I’m right here… Mom! Look, I did it!...See? I knew you could do it!
We thought we were being sneaky, watching from a distance, but moms have a good sense about things, and we figured she was on to us. Albert wasn’t going to eat breakfast until we left.


Albert was gone when we checked back later, probably off somewhere with his mom. We were happy for them...but at the same time, we kind of missed the little guy.

Linking up with Unforced Rhythms, Soli Deo Gloria, Winsome Wednesday, #TellHisStory, Coffee For Your Heart, #EverydayJesus, Thought Provoking Thursday

11 comments:

  1. Laura...this just ministered to me today. On my way to an appointment with my daughter. So many appointments, no answers and is all I do is keep reminding her is, "I'm here.". Thank you. Tears. Just beautiful.And the timing.

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    1. Oh Dawn, thank you for sharing this. God has a beautiful way of reaching us and reminding us that He's here. Abba?...I'm right here...Abba?...I'm right here.

      I will be praying for you and your daughter. If there's a specific need, feel free to email me. But God knows. And He's with you both.

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  2. oh I love to watch the birds. we had four bird houses this year with three of them full of activity and babies. SO fun.

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  3. This is so good Laura! So much truth... (and so hard for us Mama's to remember... sometimes swooping in is not what is needed!) I love the photo's as well! We are neighbors over at Holley's today and I've enjoying having a bit of Coffee with you this morning! xoxo

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  4. Oh, what a precious story! Good for Albert! And yes, moms are moms whether they have feathers, fur, or skin!

    Such good lessons you brought of this story. And the pictures of Albert are too, too cute.

    GOD BLESS!

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  5. Great story. and love his name. I watched a baby robin learn to fly this spring. Sort of the same interaction. Lots of noise by the mother - almost like radar bouncing back and forth. Good reminder too, isn't it?

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  6. I love when we get to let God teach us through nature. And our children!!

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  7. Wonderful truths taught from Albert! We cannot always swoop in and save the day for our children. But we can be there, watching from a distance, encouraging them, strengthening them & waiting for them to fly! Loved this!

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  8. Laura,
    What a great story...and you're right, sometimes all we can do is comfort and be there and that's quite a lot because not everyone has a loving and supportive parent....glad you could be there for your girl :)

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  9. That is awesome.
    It can be so hard to watch our children learn.
    Even with my adult children I want to jump in a fix everything.
    However, they have to learn sometime.

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  10. I read this post when it published last week and I am so glad you linked up with #EverydayJesus so I could read it again. Just absolutely wonderful message-- and one I def needed to hear. Love you, Laura!

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