Caw Caw

Usually they show up alone.  But, now and again a few will gather.  Once there were so many in the top of a single pecan tree, it seemed like some black noisy plague from the rod of Moses.  Though they are not a favorite bird around here, it does appear that the crow is here to stay.  The other day a couple caught my attention.  One crow went "caw caw" so I called it the two caw crow and every time that note was lifted from the branch of the tree where it was perched another crow in another tree sounded "caw caw-caw caw" so I named it the four caw crow.  I wondered what they were saying to one another.  It was obvious that there was some high in the air talking taking place.    

When God created the animals and put them in the creation with us, we were blessed.  While some are dangerous predators, each one is still a reflection of the incredible work of the Creator.  Most of us know more about dogs and cats than we do crows and hawks, but what we know is that animals bless our lives.  Each has a place in this ordered creation in which we live and each does its part in sustaining and giving life the creation.    

I think about this often at mealtime when beef is eaten at the table and I am reminded that the meat comes from a cow that once lived in our pasture.  Some might regard this kind of familiarity as offensive, but it has brought me to a new level of gratitude when I sit down to eat.  As the meal begins I remember that food is costly not just in a monetary sense, but it points to the death of an animal, the hard work of some unknown person way back up the food chain, and people who transport it and sell it so that we can live.  And at the end of a meal, it seems like a sin to throw away leftovers particularly when there was a time when I was in a first name relationship with the cow.