perspective

"...Where the walls of his cell came together at the corner, Karl noticed a shadow just beneath the ceiling where on brick was missing. The sparrows saw it as a place to build their nest.

Karl's human logic could not understand why the sparrows would forsake the fragrant green boughs of a pine-tree home for the rank gloom of this prison cell. But such a miracle was beyond human logic. When Karl reasoned with his heart, he came to the conclusion that these tiny feathered creatures were sent to him as a gift. The sparrows did not belong to him. No. They were free to come and go as they pleased. They belonged to the Lord who cared for all creatures big and small, and God had loaned them to Karl to keep him company. How kind, how thoughtful, God was, Karl concluded. God had known about the missing brick. He had provided the bread. He had sent the sparrows and planted the desire in their hearts to build their home in the very walls that imprisoned Karl.

Twig by string by stem, the sparrows labored over their nest. As they twittered to each other, Karl's heart entered into their conversation. He understood the concerns of parenthood and marriage. Of building a safe place in which to bring up youngsters. All these concerns were acted out in miniature drama in the nitch above Karl's head. Lady Sparrow scolded and the male pouted. He tossed his head and she obeyed...but not without protest. Together they lined the nest with downy feathers, creating a soft place for their little ones through their own sacrifice.

Day by day Karl offered them the best morsels of his bread. In return, they sometimes brought him gifts. One day the leaf of an elm tree. The next a faintly fragrant pine needle, which he pressed between his fingers to inhale the scent. Twice, Lady Sparrow dropped the petals of a wild flower. By holding the fragile yellow fragment in his hand, Karl could imagine a whole filed of yellow flowers sloping down toward the banks of a broad river.

They brought him pieces of the world, Little bits of beauty from which he could rebuild the memories of things he had most enjoyed with his own family: Picnics by the River Spree. A hike through the fragrant forests of Bavaria. Late-night talks with Helen about their children. Their future. Their lives. Family...

The memories of long-ago things did not make Karl melancholy,. Instead, he found comfort in replaying his life with Helen and Jamie and Lori. He had no regrets. Life had been good. Every day had been brushed with the colors of loving. Even the most ordinary routines now seemed somehow sacred and blessed, a holy sacrament.

Karl looked up at the nest. It was barely visible even though the knew where to look. If his jailers ever came into the cell, they would not see the little family high in the wall. He was grateful for this. The male had gone foraging this morning. Lady Sparrow was nestled in the downy feathers. A miracle was happening today, Karl knew. There would be eggs in the nest by the time her mate returned. This fact gave the cell the aura of a holy place. Karl bowed his head and worshiped the Lord of men and sparrows..."

quoted from Warsaw Requiem by Bodie Thoene