Wedding & Turkeys

I wish yesterday's too-hectic schedule would have been an isolated occurrence, but today turned out much the same.

We were invited to a wedding an hour-and-a-half away this morning at 11 a.m. I hadn't pressed the issue of going, but Husband decided last night that we should make the effort to go. So that meant rushing through morning milking chores and a shower and getting dressed up, and trying to hurry on roads made semi-slippery by a dusting of new snow.

The wedding was the type which triggered mixed emotions. The couple is very young, has a nine-month-old baby boy, and is expecting another baby in April. The bride is still in high school. Both bride and groom are somewhat mentally challenged......it is a long story. But, the groom's parents are very good friends of ours, so Husband felt we should show our support. We've known the boy since he was born, and it was evident early on that something was not quite right about him, but he was mainstreamed all through school. This young couple will need constant guidance and probably financial support from the adults in their lives, and it appeared today that they are surrounded by caring adults who are willing to help out. I hope so, for otherwise, this marriage looks rather hopeless. Most of the wedding attendants were adults, in fact, one of them is the special ed teacher at their high school. As the pastor said today during his wedding message, "Even though we take the wrong path sometimes, God can turn things around and bring good out of it." I pray so, on this case.

It will seem I'm switching subjects.....to birds......but, there is a connection.....maybe. In the book "The Three 'Only' Things, the author writes that in ancient times, birds were viewed as messengers from God. Other places, I've read about the ancient "language of the birds", knowledge of which has been lost to the mists of time. In particular, unusual birds that come to your attention should be viewed as having a meaningful and significant message for you.

So, with that in mind, I have three bird stories to relate.......I'm not saying I believe birds bring divine messages, but I'll simply tell what happened:

The first has to do with the groom in today's wedding. At about this same time last year, our good friend, the groom's father, stopped in to see us one day. In the course of the conversation, he informed us that his son's girlfriend was pregnant. It made me about heartsick to hear this news, though I tried not to show it. Right after our friend drove away that day in his pickup, Husband hollered to me to come outdoors........a wild turkey had flown by him and was sitting in a low tree branch by our house. We had NEVER, EVER seen a turkey here on this farm before that day! It was so strange. Now after reading about birds in that book, I looked up the word "turkey" in the dictionary, and found that it can have the meaning of "a creative work which is a hopeless failure". And that is just about how I felt that day about our friend's son's situation.......that he was not capable of being an adequate father to the baby that would soon be born to him......it was a hopeless situation.


Anyway, the coincidence of that wild turkey showing up here at our farm right as our friend left that day, is fascinating. Like I said, we had never seen a turkey here before, or since.

Indeed, also, today after leaving the tiny town where the wedding took place, we were driving a road which meandered between woodsy hills. Suddenly, Husband pointed and said, "Look.....there's some wild turkeys!" Their cluster of dark forms was easy to see on the snowy slope. So, do I think those turkeys bring a multiplied message of hopelessness.......no! There was nothing unusual about seeing them there in that wooded area.....that is the difference.......I think.

Of course, nothing is hopeless with God, so my prayer is that all will go well with this newly-married couple and their family.

Tomorrow I'll post the other two bird stories.