Morning Rescue

      It was a cool, crisp, sunny morning, at the end of April. Though it was only 33 F, flowers were brightly blooming in rose, orange, red and magenta, and I decided to ride my bicycle part-way to work early. As I bicycled down a quiet residential street, the peace was suddenly shattered by a shrill screeching, squealing and incessant cawing. I looked around for the source of this din, and there, perched upon a white fence railing was a large, greedy-looking black crow, with a writhing, little brown furry animal, clutched in its talons. Nearby, cawed another black crow, with beady, greedy eyes, already intent on devouring this little breakfast. Lest I wonder about the identity of the small, squealing victim, a terrified mother rabbit was scurrying nearby, in the yard, and across the street, a second panicky rabbit was hopping rapidly across the grassy yard. The rabbit neighborhood had had a rude morning awakening!
      My heart immediately felt for this baby bunny and his agonized parents. I shouted at the crows and ran at them with my bicycle. The surprised crows flew, with their victim in tow, into the next door driveway, and I was hot in pursuit, oblivious to the fact that I was trespassing in someone’s driveway! But the crows were duly upset, and dropped their tiny victim and flew, to observe from the safety of a nearby power line. I stooped over the baby rabbit, careful not to touch it, so as not to cause it future rejection by its parents, because of the scent of humans. The baby bunny was stunned and shaken, but apparently unharmed. The rabbit parents were nowhere to be seen. The baby regained its composure and crawled into some bushes next to the house. I stood guard for 15 minutes, as the crows greedily watched, waited and occasionally swooped nearby to peer into the bushes. I kept waving them away, wondering if the occupants of the house might wonder what I was doing. I noticed a crawl space, underneath the house, but in back of the bushes and hoped that the baby rabbit had found a refuge. One crow had flown away, hopefully in search of better pickings, but the other flew on top of the roof, out of sight. I was satisfied that the baby rabbit was safe for the time being. I had been tempted to put him in my pocket and take him to work, to nurse him to health, but his chances for survival were better in nature and he could hopefully return to his nest.
      How we are like the baby rabbit, oblivious to danger, until the enemy of our soul swoops down and snatches us, to make a quick meal of us. Thankfully, the Lord watches over us and delivers us from the mouth of disaster and gives us a second chance.
      They say, “One good turn deserves another,” and “what goes around, comes around.” Who knows, maybe one day, my life will be saved by a rabbit!