A New Home for an Injured Sparrow

“DO WE really need more work?” That was my initial reaction when my wife brought home a little house sparrow that had fallen out of its nest. A closer look at the trembling bird melted my heart. Still, I wondered how this frail creature could survive. *

At first, we had to prod our guest to eat a bit of pureed food. By the next day, though, the little sparrow was crying regularly to be fed. Its chirping could even be heard out in the stairwell, through the double doors of our apartment!

The bird’s plumage made it apparent that our sparrow was a female. In time, it regained strength and was able to fly. But our efforts to send it back outdoors proved futile! ‘Perhaps it’s just not courageous enough to leave the house,’ we thought. So we bought a birdcage and adopted our little sparrow as a pet. We named it “Spatzi,” a diminutive form of the German word meaning “sparrow.”

One day we prepared some rice, which seems to be one of Spatzi’s favorite dishes. Since it was still quite hot, my wife put it aside and scattered some seeds in front of Spatzi instead. How did our little bird react? It tilted its head and then with its beak pushed the seeds off the edge of the table! Taken aback, my wife and I looked at each other and laughed. Quickly, we put a small amount of cooled-off rice in front of Spatzi, who seemed quite satisfied with it!

Taking care of this delightful little bird brings to mind what Jesus said to his disciples: “Do not two sparrows sell for a coin of small value? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father’s knowledge.” Then Jesus said to them: “Have no fear: you are worth more than many sparrows.”​—Matthew 10:29-31.

How comforting it is to know that Jehovah sees our distresses and remembers our endurance. (Isaiah 63:9; Hebrews 6:10) Yes, the compassion we feel for a little bird is just a token of the love Jehovah God has for those who serve him!​—Contributed.

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