thankful thursday - birds

Do you remember Alfred Hitchcock's 1963 movie, The Birds? Hitchcock was a genius at taking ordinary things and making them suspenseful, earning him the nickname "The Master of Suspense." In the movie, there is a mysterious bird infestation in California. The ever-increasing flocks seem to target the main characters played by Rod Taylor and Suzanne Pleshette, attacking them over and over again. If you haven't seen the movie, it's worth watching but remember it was made before computer graphics and special effects. What it lacks in special effects it more than makes up for with story line and plot development.

I first watched the movie on television (not the silver screen) when I was about 12 years old - and the birds scared the daylights out of me! I couldn't look at a flock of birds (meaning more than two!) without wondering if they would attack. I knew in my head they wouldn't, but there was that tiny seed of doubt that always wondered, "What if..."

Somewhere between junior high and adulthood, the doubt and fear disappeared and I began to enjoy birds again. Their sweet voices are each so different. Some are melodious and tinkling like the music of a harp. Others are sharp and staccato-like, similar to a car horn. There are sopranos, altos, tenors and baritones. Most birds glide gracefully through the air as they go from perch to perch. Others, like ducks and chickens, spend some of their time waddling on the ground. Hummingbirds are the only birds that can fly both forwards and backwards, in addition to flying sideways, upside-down and hovering in mid-air.

I have come to appreciate their similarities and differences. I enjoy listening to and watching them. I love how they frolic in our birdbath splashing water around until they are wet and then fly up to the fence to shake and air dry. We live in a lake community and often have to stop our car to let the ducks cross the road - it always makes me smile. We get to watch mama ducks take care of their babies. We welcome the arrival the arrival of the "snowbirds" - the real ones! American coots fly down from snowy, northern states to winter with us. Their arrival means winter is not far behind.

While the birds in Hitchcock's movie brought fear into my heart, the feathered creatures I hear and see around me now are calming. They make me smile. And feel thankful for what God has created.