The Privilege

By Rick Cruz

Natures drama unfolds before me in a blink of an eye yesterday.   I was driving down the road between two corn fields.   The weed-filled ditch on both sides were over typically over grown for later summer.   In a quick instant a mature Red-tailed Hawk came sailing across the road, right in front of me.   He was far enough ahead to witness what was about to occur.   I have seen this before on many occasions over the years and I knew what was about to happen.   This large bird of prey spied a meal from his observation point somewhere on the other side of the road.   In his intense focus he left his vantage point to pursue his prey on the other side of a busy street.   It is dangerous business doing something like this and plenty of immature birds die by crashing into cars due to lack of experience.   After all, killing something for a living is an art in its self if you make a living out of eating other creatures.   Dodging moving vehicles to get at that creature takes keen navigational skills only learned by trial and error.   

As the hawk bolted across the road, I could calculate where he was heading.   His legs were thrust forward and his stiff talons were extended.  With his wings held back, like a drag racer’s parachute, the whole mass of his body was about to slam into some unseen hapless creature that was merely lurking in the grass.   I watched this graceful bird hit the top of the roadside ditch, talons first, only to see him topple forward like an unseated and belted passenger in a vehicle.   I thought he missed whatever it was that this bird was focused on.   Instead, he reared back his head with some large rodent trapped tightly within his beak and twisted his body to the right, and with one push, the mighty hawk was airborne and obviously heading somewhere to eat its meal in peace.   The entire incident took place within a matter of seconds.   

What impressed me the most is the bird missed its target.   It was the hawk’s full intention to grab that rodent with razor sharp talons, the vice-like power of his massive toes and feet.   The poor critter probably saw its predator only at the last minute and bolted upward only to have the hawk grab him with his beak.   

Horrible death either way around.   

One minute your minding your own business nibbling on some weed seeds, and then, out of nowhere, something twenty times larger than you picks you up with a pair of ice picks and the next thing you know your being carried aloft to your doom. 

This was not the first time I have seen this.   A week prior, I saw the same fate befall a garter snake that sunned itself on a warm asphalt roadside edge. 

This Animal Planet moment made me think about how blessed I am to witness what few ever really see outside of television today.  I began to reminisce about all the things I have seen like this over the years of my life.  I consider it a privilege to be a witness to incredible things that God has ordained and few ever see.   We are so involved in the pursuit of our own lives that we never notice what is going on in the lives of other things in the world around us.   Not that our lives are not more important but what is important is that the Lord sustains all life regardless if we notice it or not.  We are suppose to notice, be in awe and give God glory for his handiwork   That's the purpose of life on earth.   So, in honor of that, I decided to remember what I have been privileged to have been witness of: 

I have seen turtles dig a nest and lay their eggs; 

I have seen hatching turtles come out of the ground like zombies in a horror movie; 

I have watched baby birds break free of their shell in my hand;

I have seen a queen snake raise it head out of water and consume a crawfish;

I have watched a foal drop from its mother womb and take its first steps;

I have watched the bud of a lotus grow swell and burst forth a flower of such beauty it will take your breath away; 

I have seen a peach tree flower and grow with fruit so heavy its branches break; 

I have eaten sweet corn in the field where it was planted;

I was dragged to the depth of a river and almost drown by a giant flathead catfish who didn't take kindly to having a hook in his mouth; 

I have planted seeds to see them grow bear fruit and see them wither and die with the first frost; 

I have seen a hen gather her chicks in the midst of a storm;

I have seen rabbit defend her nest from a marauding crow; 

I have been pursued by an enraged swan when I unknowingly canoed past his mate on a nest;   

I have stumbled upon a listless mother alligator with her young as they basked in the early morning sun;

I have held helpless baby wood peckers in my hand without a feather to their name;

I have been hit in the head by a started ground hog who thought it wise to bask in a tree limb hanging over a trail;   

I have watched a monarch butterfly lay it eggs to see them hatch mature and turn into a mature butterfly;   

I have seen male Largemouth Bass entice females to spawn in the shallow nest they have scraped out in the shallows;   

I have held a new born child in my arms;

I have seen the first steps taking by the same child;

I have seen a baby mature to a beautiful young woman

I have seen someone take their last breath;

I have had a dog die in my arms as tears rolled down my cheek;  

I have known the love of a woman and the warmth of her embrace;

I have seen a broken marriage healed;  

I have tasted the anger of righteousness;   

I have known the loss of a parent;

I have experienced the fear of losing your life;

I have known the joy of intimacy;

I know of the bond of friendship;

I have suffered at the hands of an enemy;

I have been wrongly accused;

 I have seen the sun rise and the sun set;   

I have climbed many a tree;  

I have touched the wings of a bat looked into its eyes and admired it satin brown fur that would put a mink to shame;  

I have been admired by wild dolphins;

I have been run over by a terrified river otter;

I have been splashed by the tails by beavers;

I have experienced the fury of a tornado in all it terrifying glory;   

I have seen humming birds pluck insects out of the air;   

I have witnessed the aerial mating of ants;

I have seen bucks joust for the attention of uninterested does;    

I have seen what is not suppose to exist and they have seen me; and,

I have experienced the love, grace, and mercy of a  Living God who, in his compassion, has showed me nothing but forgiveness and favor for reasons unknown to me   It has been my privilege to live my life through Christ who reveals himself to me daily regardless of the circumstances that befall me, good or bad. 

The longer I live and the more I see and experience fills me with a greater hope.   The big things in life we get all entangled in are nothing more than points of entry to greater lessons and opportunity to grow and mature spiritually.   It is the little things that so many never stop to notice that truly speak to ones soul if they actually slow down and take time to appreciate. 

Rick Cruz has been a featured columnist for The Scout Report for  sixteen years.  Rick is a talented naturalist and keen observer of nature.