Jabberwocky: Indigo Bunting

When Ted was deployed to Cuba for a year in 2003, I was quite despondent. So many things went wrong before and after he left that I sometimes wondered whether God was still there. I think we've all had those days, and I think we've all said the following prayer, "O Lord, if you are there, please show me a sign!"

One particularly bad day right after Ted left, I found myself saying that prayer. I decided I wanted to really put God to the test, so my prayer not only asked that God show me a sign, but it ended, "Please send me an indigo bunting." (Pretty specific, wouldn't you say?)

My chair looks out over our front yard where we have several bird feeders. I usually have Petersen's Field Guide to Eastern Birds at hand (along with binoculars), and we are used to seeing the typical birds in our area: sparrows, cardinals, tufted titmice, etc. I had never seen an indigo bunting, but the color plate in Petersen's really attracted me for some reason. I desperately wanted a sign from God, and I wanted that sign to be an indigo bunting.

Within 15 minutes of making my desperate plea, an indigo bunting came to one of the feeders, where it stayed for quite a while. I sobbed and prayed a prayer of praise and thanksgiving. Of course I never once doubted that God had always been there! I was being Doubting Thomas.

I didn't see another indigo bunting after that year until this summer. This year I've seen two indigo buntings on and off, and they always remind me of God's great goodness. Yesterday Teddy was sitting in my chair and called me to the window. There was a bunting on the window sill looking in at us. It stayed for 10 or 15 minutes, enough time for me to take the photos below.