The Kingfisher

For my birthday, I took off in my kayak before it got too hot. I prowled along the shaded bank and chanced upon a Kingfisher. The Kingfisher is a funny top heavy bird, with a blue feathered crown and a beak almost as long as his body. He is adept at, you guessed it, fishing. One might even say he is a King among fishers! He never let me get very close, but for the entire time I was kayaking, he led me upstream along the shore. Every few feet he would pause, sitting on a nearby branch until I approached, and then he would squawk, and take flight again. When I turned around, he turned around, and led me back all the way till I cut away from the shore to cross the river and return to the dock. He was exceedingly pleasant company, as the morning breeze slipped over my arms like silk. The river was otherwise empty, just me, the turtles sunning, and the Kingfisher. I think perhaps it was God's birthday gift to me - the Kingfisher leading me along the river. I don't mind being alone, in fact, I like being alone. But I love being surprised by the company of nature while kayaking and listening to the gentle lapping of the water on the shore, the shriek of osprey overhead, the splashes of turtles when I approach. So the Kingfisher was a pleasant surprise, the icing on my birthday cake from Creation.

Funny how it led me the whole time I was on the water. It made me grateful for another King that leads me, and is a Fisher too, a Fisher of Men. Most days, I am not aware that He is always just a step ahead. But sometimes, I recognize that He is there, leading me so subtly, so gently, that I often think I am the one choosing the path. How lovely when we are both pleased to be following the same shoreline, of one accord.
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This is the one who came through water and blood, Jesus Christ, not by water alone, but by water and blood. The Spirit is the one that testifies, and the Spirit is truth. So there are three that testify, the Spirit, the water, and the blood, and the three are of one accord. Whoever possesses the Son has life; whoever does not possess the Son of God does not have life. (1 John 5:6-8, 12 NABRE)


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