The Farmer and the Bird

THE FARMER AND THE BIRD A farmer had a pile of sticks that he was going to burn, But when a bird built a nest there, it caused him great concern. He waited till the bird was gone and went back to the pile And tore the nest out of the twigs, but then in just a while The bird flew back and with great haste began to build again A better nest than there before just shortly once had been. The farmer came out once again to burn the pile he’d made, But saw the nest there once again; the bird inside had stayed. “I hope she hasn’t laid her eggs,” the farmer said with fear, “Because I want to burn that wood, I do not want it here.” And soon the bird took off again, the farmer looked again; No eggs were laid yet in the nest, and so he did begin To tear the nest apart once more; this time the bird came back And saw the farmer at the job and wanted to attack. The farmer chased the bird away, began to light the fire, And soon the pile of sticks became an ashen, smoldering pyre. The bird began to build again, this time there in a tree; She looked down at the burning sticks, and somehow she could see The farmer meant no harm to her and that was why he spent The effort that he had gone through when her nest he had rent. He had his plans and didn’t want the bird to be destroyed, And so he did it all in love, though she wasn’t overjoyed. The lesson that we all can learn from the farmer here today Is that there’s One who knows what’s best and so protects our way. Our plans may seem so great to us, but He the future knows, And sometimes He will interrupt the way we try to go. And when we see His plan unfold, we see the reason then Why He had kept us from the plans we tried hard to begin. When we get to the other side to enter heaven’s rest, We’ll see in all life’s hindered plans God always knew the best.