One Little Sparrow

 One Little Sparrow

a short story

by Joshua Coffman

Curious children crowded around the puddle in the middle of the playground. There was a little bird who had just broken it’s wing. It had hopped to the puddle to get a drink of water. The children encouraged it to fly away but it wasn’t able to because of the broken bones in it’s wing.

Jessica wanted to help but she didn’t know how to fix a bird wing. She thought it would be best to let her parents know. They were still in the church building. She ran inside to get some help.

Her mother was talking to some other adults and Jessica politely told her mother that there was a bird with a broken wing in the playground. Her mother immediately went to go help and some of the other adults came to help as well.

Outside, mother wrapped the bird in a small towel and brought the bird into their car. Father was already there ready to drive them to the wildlife center. They knew that the bird would be taken care of there.

Jessica’s older sister helped bring the bird into the center and they were assured that the bird would get better. As they drove away, Father reminded them of the Bible verse that says: “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.”

They drove home and while they ate lunch, Jessica thought more about the bird. She decided to read about all different kinds of birds, all shapes and sizes. They had picture books that told about the birds and where they lived and what color their eggs were. She thought it was interesting now.

Some birds even couldn’t fly at all, even with their wings not broken.

Several weeks later, Mother got a phone call from the wildlife refuge. The bird’s wing was fully healed and they] were going to release the bird back into the wild. Later that night, when Father came home, they drove to the wildlife refuge and they all watched as Jessica opened the bird cage and let the little bird fly away.

They all clapped and afterward they went to celebrate God’s healing power by eating ice cream. Jessica was glad that the bird was healed but was sad that it flew away never to be seen again. She wondered where it’s nest was. She knew that it was just an animal though.

She was happy that her family was the type of family that cared about other people. They were so kind that they even helped take care of little animals. And Jessica thought God would act the same way, even HE would take care of the little animals. And if she ever got into a tough situation, she knew that she could rely on God and her family to help her heal and make it through.