circle of life

I’m not a birdwatcher, but this week I seem to be noticing hawks. I’ve rarely noticed hawks before, partly because they don’t seem to be all that common, and partly because I’m not into that “old person hobby” phase of life just yet. (I know, soon. There is no shortage of people who take far too much enjoyment reminding me of the fact that the half-century mark is looming on the horizon. But I digress. . .) The point is, the hawks are everywhere this winter. Why?

Because of the ice storm.

Remember that nasty little wintry phase of life when everything was dark and cold? Those nights when the tree branches snapping around you sounded like a war zone? Those days that seemed to drag on forever when you had no contact with the people you loved to know if they were even alive, much less safe and warm? That following spring when you wondered if our little corner of the world would ever be beautiful again?

Yep. The ice storm. It all began to make sense. The trees that had been standing solid for years were broken to make a way for new life. Raccoons, moles, possums. Squirrels and rabbits, and skunks, oh my. Those thousands of fallen limbs and branches and dead trees have provided safe shelter this past year for our little friends to reproduce and repopulate. Which, with the small mammal population increase, has provided more prey for our hawk friends. Circle of life, and all that.

God has a reason, and a time, for everything.

There is a time for everything:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

There is a time for everything. In His time.