The Doves Among Us

and thoughts of angels dance in my brain.

by

Every morning, the first person awake anxiously checks the back porch. Are they back?

The “they” is a pair of doves who appear to be making a nest in a sheltered space in a gap at the top of a brick post on our patio. There’s a deck above, and the post is about 11 feet high, so it is pretty inaccessible to predators.

We were out of town the week of April 21 and were delighted to see they were still there upon our return.

But that weekend, we had a family gathering, and there was an extra dog and many additional people in the house. I suspected our activity would frighten them away. Sadly, it appeared that I was right.

However, two days ago, they came back. The male, whom I’ve named Ozzie, is engaged in frenetic nest-building activity while Harriet tends to stay put. I had been concerned that our dog, who gets what I call the “barkies” several times a day when the neighborhood dogs are out, would send them away again, but they are hanging in.

I am doing much gardening these days, but seek to keep my movements near Ozzie and Harriet as minimal as possible, often wishing there were some way I could communicate to them that they are safe here.

I am reminded that whenever we read in the Bible about the appearance of an angel, the first words a person hears are “Do not be afraid.”

“Do not be afraid, I bring you no harm,” I want to whisper to the doves.

I saw bees popping in and out of the stunning blooms on the Pride of Barbados tree this morning. To them, and to the hummingbird I briefly saw as well as the dragonflies and other insects, I want to say, “Do not be afraid. I bring you no harm.”

There is something about the trusting presence of the doves that speaks to both of us. In addition to the birds and insects, we have squirrels scampering all over the back yard and increasingly bold bunnies feasting on the tender plants coming up.

The bunnies are an issue for me as they can be destructive, but I’ve discovered a strategic scattering of slivers of Irish Spring soap will keep them away from the plants I most want to keep while still offering them plenty to nibble on elsewhere.

Several people in our neighborhood have recently posted photos of large rat snakes emerging. While I’m not overly delighted to SEE one of those slithery creatures, I’m relieved when I know one is making his/her home in my garden. They do help with the bunny population, as well as the rodents that inevitably show up. So even to the snakes I say, “Do not be afraid, I wish you no harm.”

Even so, I know all life forms are fragile—predators exist for all, except for lions. Creatures must consume other creatures for the energy necessary for existence and continued fertility.

We humans are the most powerful and the most likely predators of other humans. We have developed an ability to slaughter one another in the cruelest of ways, not for sustenance but instead for some twisted need to maim and slaughter.

Sadly, this sets us apart from most other living creatures.

Perhaps our souls have become so perverted that we can no longer see the angels—or even want to see them: their presence pushes us to see ourselves in a less-flattering light. We may have so honed our ability to spew cruelty upon one another that we can no longer hear the angels speak.

I don’t know. I honestly don’t know. I only know that I want to offer something different to those around me. I want to hear the angels.

The Rev. Dr. Christy Thomas is an author, columnist and retired clergy member of the former North Texas Annual Conference (now Horizon Texas Conference) of The United Methodist Church. This post is republished from her blog, Pondering Life, Old Age, and a Crazy World.