The mystery of love

On Sunday morning while the morning dew was on the grass, I went out on my back patio to check on the birds.

I've been watching a mother robin sitting on her nest. She built the nest on a rafter where her babies would be protected from rain and sun and predators. The metal roof over the nest offers protection from the elements.

Finally, four eggs hatched and she's been real busy going back and forth bringing food to the babies. She stuffs the food deep into their throats. They seem never to be satisified and she is kept busy feeding them. All of them have their mouths spread wide when she approaches.

Two of the hatchlings are completely feathered out and are sitting higher in the nest now..

I decided it was about time those two would be leaving the nest So in the early afternoon, I took my camera, stood on a metal milk carton, and took several photos. Their big dark eyes stared back at me but they made no sound. Had I waiting until late evening, I wouldn't have gotten the photographs. Because sometime in the afternoon, the two fully feathered baby robins took wing as I knew they surely must. Now there are two more babies who will need a few more days of feeding and encouragement from the mother before they take wing.

At the other end of the rafter, a mourning dove has been sitting on her nest. This afternoon when she left the nest I saw one baby dove staring back at me. Apparently, she has only one baby. The mother dove often frequents a makeshift feeder on the west side of the house. In early morning while I'm drinking my morning coffee, I look out the kitchen window and see her pecking at the seeds.

Her baby dove is so cute, wide awake, as its waits for its mother to return to the nest.

There is no conflict between the mother dove and the mother robin. They coexist peacefully as they occupy the same rafter.

There is some sort of lesson here.

That mother bird does not have to feed her young. She could just fly away and never return after the eggs hatch. But she doesn't. She works tirelessly to provide the helpless babies with the nourishment they must have to survive. There is a built-in component that drives her to care for her babies. I guess it's love. That same love is seen throughout the animal world. Even wild animals love and care for their young until the young are mature enough to manage on their own. We have seen videos of a mother polar bear playing with her young and of lions and monkeys playing with their offspring.

It's the same thing with humans. How many times have you heard a mother or grandmother say that she never imagined she would feel such love for her newborn baby or grandchild. There is such depth that it is unimaginable. God provides that bond so that the helpless baby will be taken care of and provided for.

There's an aside to the story about the birds.

This morning I looked out my window and there on the birdfeeder was a tiny baby dove. It was pecking at the seed, stopping to stretch its wings and catch the morning rays.

Nearby on a fence top was its mother. She watched her baby from a distance. Then she flew down to where it was as if in greeting. The baby dove shivered and shook as it obviously recognized its mother.The mother seemed to be saying, "Now you stay right here. I'll be back in a few mintues." Then she flew away.

The baby dove stretched its neck and looked in her direction, then huddled down on the bird feeder as if to take a nap. Then I was in for a surprise. I went out back to check on the remaining two robins who were in their nest. I also checked the dove nest and there was a baby dove nestled in the nest.

Apparently, I had miscounted. There had been two baby doves, not one, in the nest. Now only one remains. The mother will continue feeding the fledgling until it, too, takes its solo flight. (I later read that the female dove lays two while eggs.)

Another surprise. The remaining two baby robins decided to leave the nest. I was privileged to witness the last one take flight. It flew to the ground and hid in a patch of taller grass. Finally it hopped back to the concrete patio and tried unsuccessfully to fly back up into its nest. It was only able to fly about two feet into the air before it failed. It hopped onto the lawn mower but still was unable to fly upward for any distance. The last time I saw it, it was perched on some lattice work a short distance from its nest. Nearby the mother perched on a fence and called to her baby in a series of loud chirps.

The baby robin answered in soft peeps.

What is this thing called love?

Songwriter Cole Porter wrote a popular song with that title. He called love a mystery

You took my heart and threw it away

That's why I ask the Lord in Heaven above

What is this thing called love?

Who can solve its mystery?

Why should it make a fool of me?

Cole Porter was writing about unrequited love,.a rejection from someone who threw his heart away.

That's one kind of love.

The Holy Bible also teaches about love.

The teachings are that if you don't have love, you are nothing and you gain nothing.

Love is patient and kind. It isn't rude or self-seeking. It isn't easily angered and it keeps no record of wrongs. It protects, always trusts, always hopes and perseveres. Love, according to the scriptures, is the greatest gift of all.

Yes, love is a mystery, but one thing I'm sure it isn't.

It isn't a soap opera.