Deep in the dark forest, where birds once sang and trees once grew, there came three scavengers to pick among the ruins.
A great fire recently snuffed by torrential rains was still smoldering, soon to die out completely. This is the scene our explorers came upon that winters day in the Santa Monica Mountains of California.
Joe, Rudy and Tammie were good friends who hung around together looking for things to do, looking (some might say) for trouble. They left school after seventh period ended, met up by the gym and snuck out the back door of the boy’s locker room which opened to the parking lot. Leaving a boring school day early is always a stand-alone thrill, and this December day was no exception. The three were enjoying that tremendous sense of freedom found when you’re on the outside with two hours left until the final bell rings.
With high fives exchanged – the adventure began. “Where to gentlemen?” Tammie wisecracked as she fumbled for the keys to her red Ford Focus.
Dumb ideas were bantered around until Rudy said, “Let’s head to the mountains and check out the forest fires.” Nobody said a smart idea would catch the trio’s imagination, and the forest fire just seemed right. Off they went.
These kids knew the territory. They smoked weed in the forest, they drank beer there. All the things teenage kids with a wild streak and time on their hands like to do…can be done in the privacy of the forest.
As the little car made its way up the mountain roads they were shocked to see the destruction all around them. Their taunts got fewer, their voices more subdued. Tammie pulled the car into a parking area which on a good day would lead to the trails. But there were no trails left, only tree branches and naked black tree trunks everywhere. Tammie shut off the ignition, placed the car in park and pulled on the parking brake…just in case. Joe got out first and gasped as the smell of burnt trees hit his nostrils and made his eye water. He pulled his t-shirt up over his mouth and nose, then motioned to Rudy and Tammie who waited in the car, to come on out.
The three moved slowly, almost reverently as they approached the edge of the forest. There was a smoky blue haze which hung in the forest like a canopy blocking their view of the sky and sun. It was as if they were actors staged in an apocalyptic movie set in the distant future.
They kicked their way through the forest floor, moving branches with sneaker clad toes. They jumped over the tree trunks blocking their way with each careful step. Somehow the kids knew not to talk. What they were witnessing – no – what they were now a part of, was God’s green earth scorched and lifeless. Unsure of what they were doing there, they cautiously kept going.
Rudy spotted it first. It was a grand bird with wings outspread burnt to a crisp. The bird appeared to be set in stone like a fossil or those bugs caught in amber. The outline of her majestic form was keenly defined and there was something about the sight which demanded undivided attention. The three could not look away.
Tammie got closer. She removed the scarf she had tied around her face when they entered the forest and wrapped it around her right hand like a prize fighter preparing to get on her gloves. She walked carefully toward the base of the tree which held their discovery. Joe and Rudy hung back and watched their friend as she crouched down and reached out to touch the specimen. They saw her trace the bird’s form with her padded fingers. She started with the beak, under the slender neck across the widespread wing, around the slim body, down the spindly legs, back up the other body side to the left wing and over to the crown of the head. Like an artist she stood back and admired her completed creation when the once solid ashes began to crumble. Behind the last remains of the grand bird, two tiny baby birds wiggled free – alive and breathing.
The mother bird gave her life to protect her babies. Now the siblings were free to spread their own wings and fly away to a new home where the air is healthy and the twigs cool and fresh. And off they went.
Tammie, Joe, and Rudy were awestruck. It’s not every day you witness God at work. The three friends made their way out of the forest without saying a word. No one wanted to kill the buzz.
They piled back in the car and drove home. Joe got dropped off first. Then Rudy. Tammie pulled her car in to the garage and sat for a while in the dark. Thinking about God. Thinking about mothers. Thinking about wings. When she walked in the house her mother was standing at the kitchen sink with an empty cup of coffee in hand. Tammie gave her mom a big hug and her mom hugged back. There she stood protected in her mother’s loving arms, loving life and having learned a lesson of wings.
Epilogue
Though Tammie, Joe and Rudy were moved and inspired by their adventure. And though they were clearly made aware of God’s presence by the miracle they witnessed. Teens will be teens at a certain age and there was no sudden religious fervor that came from their experience. At least not right away. Rudy became a youth pastor and tells beautiful tales of God’s miracles. Joe made a fortune in the landscaping business and is one of the leading philanthropists in Southern California where he donates to charities that protect the environment. Tammie is a teacher and a mother devoted to her family, a relentless advocate and protector of her three daughters. All is right in their worlds, exactly as God intended.