Filling our nests with Divine Mercy

During the 2007 Advent Season, I felt the urge to get a small tree for our foyer, but it seemed like a frivolous expense after looking at local options which didn't fit my December budgetary constraints. Then my husband John and I happened upon a true bargain, a potted 5 ft. tall artificial evergreen, originally $75.00 marked down to $17.00 because it was a floor model. I'm the kind of gal that always goes to the clearance racks first. I've been a thrift shopper since a child, learning to stretch a dollar a long way out of necessity. That has proven to be an asset in raising six children. My husband asked how I planned to decorate my bargain and suggested we look for decorations before leaving the store. He found a nice set of beautiful bird ornaments that he said reminded him of the ones that his grandparents once had on their tree. They were very nice, but were extremely breakable. They also were pricey and to get enough for the tree would have been costly. Disappointed, yet inspired, we put them back on the shelf.

A few days later, I was back in the same store again and thought I'd take another look at the ornaments. I was thrilled to find several tiny wooden bird ornaments in various colors and became even more excited when I saw they were on sale at a basement bargain price! I carefully chose enough of the ornaments to fill the tree and brought them home to show my bird loving husband and kids.

My husband's love of birds is most definitely passed on by his Grandfather, Albert Latusek. Grandpap loved bird watching and listening. Very often when we would visit him in Monroeville, PA we would join him and Grandma on the big swing he'd built out back or on the back porch. We would sit quietly and listen to Grandpap chirp "bird" calls and watch the birds go in and out of the birdhouses by his grapevine. When our oldest son John was about 2 1/2, he asked me something about Pap-Pap, I asked him which Pap-Pap he was talking about and he said, "Pap-Pap Birdie in Pencil-Pencil-vaneyah!" The name stuck and from then on, Grandpap became Pap-Pap Birdie to our children.

I was so excited to show my colorful treasures to my husband and children when I returned home from my ornament treasure hunt. My husband was impressed when I told him I'd only spent $15.00 for the whole lot of them. Everyone took turns looking at all the different birds. Everyone but Jake. Jake looked at me and said, "I don't like birds, Mom."  All the other children started laughing at this surprising statement from my six-year-old. The sudden laughter truly agitated Jake. He said in protest, "It is NOT funny, birds are dumb and scary!" This was followed by more laughter from the kids who couldn't believe their little brother was scared of birds. After hushing them and sending them away, I asked Jake why he didn't like birds. He responded, "They have very sharp beaks, Mom." I went on to explain why birds had beaks and what they used them for and I assured Jake that birds were not out to terrorize little boys. My husband, John was sitting there and he brought up how he had learned to love birds from Pap-Pap Birdie. He talked at length about how Pap-Pap Birdie had built bird houses and knew different bird calls. He explained to Jake that birds were a part of God's creation. Jake listened intently and said, "But Pap-Pap Birdie is in heaven now. Do they have birds in heaven?" John and I looked at each other rather dumbfounded. Wow! How do we answer that one? After a brief silenced we both stumbled into something about how we "hoped" there were birds, but even if there weren't, that most certainly the saints in heaven could still enjoy in some mystical way, the birds on earth.

The Pap-Pap Birdie Christmas tree spent the month of December and a good bit of January in the entry foyer of our home. As I carefully put away the ornaments, I was rather sad, because I'd enjoyed looking at them everyday. I decided to place the artificial tree on the porch as we had picked up another (at an even better markdown) at the after Christmas sale. We placed them in front of the long rectangular windows which adorn each side of our front door. Jake continued to struggle with his issues with birds and John and I had many conversations discussing strategies to help Jake de-sensitize and re-think his position on birds.

With no success, I started thinking a lot about my Grandma Kidd and how she always had such a special way of explaining things to little ones. She taught kindergarten for years, and always had a bird nest on her science table. If only she were here to give me her advice. I closed my eyes and immediately felt the urge to pray about Jake's fears. Perhaps it was a holy nudge from Grandma. If only this mother of six could come to the conclusion to pray in a more timely way when presented with a challenge, our nest would be a much more peaceful place! As with most of the answers to prayer in my life, I've stubbornly learned the hard way, to trust that God would answer me within His time.

The trees remained on the porch for the month of January, February and March and then a miracle happened. On the Friday before Divine Mercy Sunday, which happens to be the two year anniversary of my Grandma Kidd's death, I was cleaning the foyer and saw movement on the front porch. I peered out of the window to see a small wren building a nest in the Pap-Pap Birdie tree. NO WAY! I couldn't believe it! When the Mama bird saw me, she quickly flew away. I peered into the nest and there were three tiny blue eggs. I called to the little ones to come see. They anxiously awaited the arrival of their older siblings from school to share the news.

Of all the trees in our yard, the mother bird chose this one, the one with a clear view of her nest from inside our own nest. Our family has our very own window on God's magnificent creation, bird parents, their nest, and their five little eggs to date. We are all waiting (even Jake) in anticipation for the birds to hatch and to watch them grow and leave the nest. We've named the Papa Bird Albert and the Mama Bird Hilda, after John's grandparents. We are hashing out names for each egg now. I can't help but believe that these tiny little wrens (Pap-Pap Birdie's favorite birds by the way) are an active merciful intercession between heaven and earth. An actual communion with the saints. A grandmother helping out her grand-daughter. A great-grandfather that never got to meet his fourth great-grandson sending him a special gift wrapped in a nest and filled with Divine Mercy. The Divine Mercy so needed in times of fear and in times of ineptness.

Mary Kidd Flemming, Founder of The Handmaids of Mercy www.handmaidsofmercy.typepad.com

Other Blogging by Mary Kidd Flemming concerning parenting issues and family life can be found at www.thecompassrose.typepad.com

You may also be interested in visiting www.crossroadsfamilycenter.com the website of Crossroads Professional Counseling and Family Life Center, owned and operated by John A Flemming, LPC.