The Pigeon

On December 7th, a pigeon was inhabiting the roof of one of our outbuildings. To be exact, the building I call the studio. We have not had a pigeon around the farm since we moved in over eight years ago; our barn cats scared them away.

She was beautiful… captivating. The day before her residency on the studio roof, I noticed three pigeons flying around the farm, and one of them landing on the roof of the house. I believe it was her because of her unique feather patterns.

While doing morning chores on the 7th, I thought perhaps she was hungry and thirsty since the winter chill and landscape has settled in, leaving less food to be had. I also wondered why she was alone? After all, pigeons typically stay together. They often mate for life.

Before going back into the house, I sat a pan of water and a dish of food out for her in the driveway, right in front of where she was perching and watching the activities of the farmyard. The location of the food and water was also chosen so that I could watch her while helping my son with his homework at the kitchen table.

She was gone! Within a few moments of returning to the house, I looked out the window and she was no longer at her post on the studio roof. I even went outside and walked around the entire building just to be sure. Why did she leave? Why had she come?

There is beauty in noticing moments that are uncommon in daily life. A random pigeon on the roof of a building can have meaning. These simple, small, uncommon moments can be messages from the Lord. He is creative like that. He watches to see if we are paying attention. If we are, He will send more messages for us to find; actually, I truly believe He is always sending us messages, we just have to be aware that we can look for them.

Why did the Lord send me a pigeon? The answer came to me this morning. For many years now, the Lord has sent Red-Tailed Hawks to me at specific times in my life. The messages that come with Red-Tailed Hawks are usually one word – strength, soar, insight, majesty. The messages that came with the pigeon, at times called “the flying rat”, were perseverance, humility, sacrifice, and a sense of simple beauty that was lost but now is found; isn’t that a testimony of this past year?

If we paid attention in 2019, did we all have Red-Tailed Hawk messages trying to prepare us for the year of 2020? I think so. I can honestly say that this past year has not felt like a year of soaring high in the sky like a majestic warrior, but rather an up and down rollercoaster that immolates the coming and going of pigeons on the city corner waiting for crumbs to drop. It has been a year of accepting that it is okay to live on “rations”, whether those “rations” are in the form of food, company with loved ones, patience, understanding, and so on.

2019 was a year of learning to be strong, 2020 was a year of learning to be humble, and 2021 is going to be… Well, I don’t know what bird would represent both the qualities of a hawk and a pigeon, or the word to describe it. Perhaps a Blue Footed Booby? They are carnivorous birds that live in flocks (they are not cannibals). I think we would all like to get back to dining together and not on each other – with “cooled off” feet.