Spring
Spring is here. The time of renewal and new life has arrived, and I am ready for it. The last six months have presented many trials both at home and in my writing. Last year on Christmas Day, my wife fell and broke her hip. Fortunately, while she lay in the emergency room, the attending physician saw one of the hospital’s orthopedic surgeons, who looked at the X-rays. The surgeon talked to us and offered to operate on her hip that afternoon, using screws, pins, and a plate to hold the head of her femur together, if we would transfer her to a larger hospital. We agreed; the surgery succeeded; and two months later, the fracture had healed.
However, before her hip finished healing, she had a stroke caused by a blood clot blocking the flow to parts of her brain. The damage occurred in the area responsible for language. A condition known as aphasia. Her speech has improved and continues to improve, but communication can still be frustrating. This leads me to hope for renewal in my life.
Geese
We like one Park near our house because it has a pond where ducks and geese live. Most springs, baby goslings and baby ducks remind us of the new life that comes this time of year. (Goslings, Ducklings, Squirrels, Hummingbirds) The differences in parenting style between ducks and geese amaze me. This year, the geese have five rapidly growing goslings. They are protective parents who hiss and threaten us if we get too close, especially if we have the dog.
One gosling has an injured leg and limps, so when the family grazes in the grass, it becomes separated from the others. But the father stands guard over his injured child. The family will stay together throughout the summer and occasionally fly off together on their migration.
Ducks
Ducks have a different parenting style. Though there aren’t any ducklings on the pond yet, I expect some next week. Walking around the pond lately, only the male mallards are there. They swim, sit, or waddle on the grass alone or in small groups of two or three. The females sit on their hidden nests.
The dad’s job is done, and mom’s is beginning. Once the ducklings hatch, she leads them to the water and watches over them for a while. But unlike the geese, she doesn’t keep them together. It isn’t long before the “peep-peep-peep” of the little ducks comes from the farthest reaches of the pond. The ducklings mature independently into functioning adults.
When I look at my life and the three children we raised, as well as the grandchildren they have raised, I’m not sure which parenting style is more effective. I think that only God, our perfect, heavenly father, who has known each of us since before we were born, knows. Even then, our stubborn self-will interferes. When Carol fell on Christmas Day, we know God was there to protect us and lead us through the unexpected situation. From friends driving by the park helping Carol to the car, to the orthopedic surgeon just happening by the emergency room, to the break not requiring a hip replacement, to surgery less than twelve hours later, God showed up.
Apology
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