For Wilshire Baptist Church
Sitting on the sofa yesterday evening, I looked out the back windows and thought I saw an animal in our back yard. We don’t have a fence so it wouldn’t be unusual; we’ve looked out before and seen cats and dogs, possums and rabbits. Still, I wanted to know if it was friend or foe so I went out to look. As my eyes focused in the deepening dusk, it didn’t take long to see that it wasn’t an animal; it was a large hawk, on the ground, hopping about and spreading it’s wings. I called for LeAnn and she came out to see it too.
Earlier in the evening we had seen a rabbit sitting contently in the shade. Realizing what was happening now, I started clapping my hands and walking toward the hawk. Sure enough, it jumped up and a rabbit went popping over the brush and into the darkness. The hawk – which in the dim light looked as big as an eagle – pumped its wings a couple of times and flew up onto the roof, looked down at me, and then swooped back down over the yard and up into the trees across the alley.
We went back inside, relieved that we had prevented a tragedy; we had saved a bunny from death. But the more I thought about it, I wondered: at what cost? Did we help or hurt nature? After all, rabbits have been pretty tough on our vegetation at times, eating flowers, grapevines, young vegetables and other plants we work hard to cultivate and grow. And if the rabbit did survive, what became of the hawk? In its hunger, would it seek other prey such as a neighbor’s cat or small dog? We’ve heard plenty of stories about that in our neighborhood. And sadly, we’ve found tufts of feathers and fur in our yard and even on our porch.
It’s hard to know when it’s right to step in and do something or step aside and let the chips fall. It’s hard to know if our actions are a righteous intervention or a misguided interference? We face these questions every day: at work, at school, at home, at play. It happens in the neighborhood and on the world stage; from Avenue E in Garland to Afghanistan. Sometimes the stakes are insignificant, and sometimes they are life changing.
I don’t have any answers. I just keep thinking about that hawk, staring at me from the rooftop with knowing eyes.