Patty the Homeless Peahen

Patty the Homeless Peahen

Where did she come from? I don’t know. How long will she stay? I don’t know. Where will she go? I don’t know. Strutting gracefully up the street to the end of the cul-de-sac in which we live, came a peahen one day. Young, but fully grown ,we dubbed her Patty. At first we were unsure if she was a female or a young male. She lacked the long and glorious tail feathers of the mature male. Her proud chest was the silky white of a female. Her sudden appearance was around St Patrick’s day, so she automatically received the Irish title of Paddy. She remained Paddy until a friend on facebook easily identified that our Paddy was indeed, a Patty.

Patty is a pretty little peahen. She walks pompously around the cul-de-sac, head held high, calling in her deep, haunting honk as she feeds from one yard to the other. Her emerald neck feathers glisten in the sun as she scratches tentatively for worms and insects. Always her attentive eyes look alternatively between food sources and danger. Her large, grey wings lift her seemingly too heavy body, above any imminent trouble, as she perches on roof tops, cars and balcony railings, honking in panic as she flies. 

Patty is homeless. She doesn’t belong to anyone. She is lonely. Sometimes her trumpeting call is mournful and filled with a longing for her own kind.Each morning as the sun rises in a splash of crimson across the eastern sky, Patty awakens from a neighbours yard of safety, and starts her daily round of searching for food. She spends time scratching and pecking on our front lawn. In sympathy for her plight, we toss the dried cat food scraps on the lawn. Always she is eager to find them and consume them rapidly. As the rising sun warms the front of our neighbours house, Patty roosts regally on the roof of their car, sunning herself contentedly. The afternoon finds Patty lonely once more. She seeks my company, sitting peaceably on our pebblecreted front patio, and listening to our household voices, sensing our companionship. I often take a piece of bread out to her, breaking it up into tiny pieces and dropping it gently by my feet, to be hungrily pecked up by Patty. I talk softly and tenderly to her and she cocks her head comically from side to side as if to understand and in some way communicate back to me. Occasionally Patty wanders far away, plodding along street after street, sometimes calling in a melancholy tone, sometimes eating but always looking. Looking for a friend. Looking for home. Looking for a place to belong. Will she one day find it?

Patty’s plight calls to my mind the deep desire the human heart has for a sense of belonging. We all desire to belong, yet at times we feel lonely, we feel like we are on the outside looking in. The Bible tells us that God fills that need for a deep sense of belonging with His calling on our lives.

1 Peter 2:9 “However, you are chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, people who belong to God. You were chosen to tell about the excellent qualities of God, who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”

Deut 14:12 For you are a people holy to the LORD your God, and the LORD has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.

Do I have my sense of belonging rooted in God? Do I know He has chosen me? Do I realise I am His treasured possession. I belong to God. 

From Anticipation to Disappointment

From Anticipation to Disappointment

A young Korean man named Min-jun stepped off the plane, on a sultry summer’s day at Sydney International Airport, into a new country and into a new life. With much eager anticipation he looked forward to a new beginning leaving behind his broken past in the home land of his birth. Although he spoke English fluently he soon settled into life inside a close knit Korean community within Sydney itself, giving him a sense of family and a sense of belonging in this new country.  The streets of Strathfield, a leafy suburb of Sydney, housed a miniature Korea. There he could receive Korean dental care, Korean medical attention, buy Korean clothing, eat Korean food, shop in Korean supermarkets and have Korean haircuts. Soon after migrating to Australia ,Min-jun met and married a pretty Korean lady and together they attended a vibrant Korean church all within Sydney, Australia. 

Min-jun started his own business in Sydney restoring old wooden flooring, in large spacious homes, into beautifully polished woodwork. Here he met and associated with many caucasian Australians. His English was effortless and he connected with ease with his clients. Although he moved in and out of the Australian culture through work, he maintained a strong network of support and friendships within the Korean community itself. 

Min-jun was still gaining a working knowledge and understanding  of Australian culture, foods, colloquialisms,  social habits and lifestyle when he visit a non Korean, Australian church for worship one Sabbath with his wife. After the service they decided to stay for the delectable pot luck lunch, where there was a vast array of Australian foods to be enjoyed. That’s when he spied it. A large jar of chocolate spread. It looked delicious and inviting and beside it was a loaf of bread. He waited patiently for the grace to be said and then as he picked up a white, plastic disposable plate and cutlery, he headed for that enticing jar. He pulled out a soft piece of bread and with deliberate thought, he layered it thickly and smoothly with delectable chocolate, his mouth watering in heavenly anticipation. Just one bite was enough to fill him with horror. He held in his hands something that did not in anyway taste sweet and delicious to him. In fact it was strong in taste, salty and very disagreeable to his taste buds. At the risk of offending his new found friends he slowly, bite by bite consumed the very detestable slice of bread slathered with a deep layer of what had at first appeared to be chocolate. He went from the heights of anticipation to the depths of disappointment.

Soon Min-jun learned that what he had thickly covered a slice of bread with was in fact an Australian spread called Vegemite. Vegemite is a very dark brown,  Australian food paste made from leftover brewers' yeast extract, with various vegetable and spice additives.It has a salty taste. It is spread thinly and enjoyed tremendously by Aussies from babyhood. Vegemite is an Australian icon and part of our culture, having been around since 1922. 

How often I have been like Min-jun. With enthusiastic earnestness I plan in advance or I look forward to, with hopeful anticipation, scenarios and events and situations. Then suddenly I find myself plummeting to the bottom of despondency as the situation has turned from one of joyful anticipation to frustrating disappointment. 

Did Jesus ever experience disappointments? Does He understand how I feel? Can I come to Him with my disappointments? The Bible tells us Jesus does understand me Heb 4: 15 “ For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet he did not sin.” He himself experienced disappointments. How hard it would have been just to know that one of your close friends would betray you to death? John 13:21” Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, "Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.” 

When disappointments come my way Jesus knows and understands but He also shows me the way out. It is through the way of praise and rejoicing. Hab 3:17-19 Though the fig tree should not blossom And there be no fruit on the vines, Though the yield of the olive should fail And the fields produce no food, Though the flock should be cut off from the fold And there be no cattle in the stalls, Yet I will exult in the LORD, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. The Lord GOD is my strength, And He has made my feet like hinds' feet, And makes me walk on my high places…”