Returning from the chow hall here after dinner recently I noticed a pair of crows facing one another from opposite sides of a tall fence. One bird was standing stoically on the inside of the perimeter fencing and the other was flapping its wings and jumping around on the outside, or "free-side", as if prompting the crow inside to fly out and join it. After a short while the outside bird flew back into the prison yard enclosure and briefly interacted with its non-compliant partner, who apparently was puzzled and effectively paralyzed by the visually encompassing barrier before it. Moments later, the obvious leader of the two took flight once again, this time parallel to the fence initially. With no obstacles immediately confronting its forward momentum now, the second bird finally gave chase to the first. Once they were both above the fence top they turned in tandem to cross it and gracefully flexed, flapped, and fluxed out of view and back into the incomprehensible whole of God's infallible purpose for each of their lives.

When those two magnificent fellow creatures of God's imagination successfully cleared that fence line together, my spirit soared along with 'em and I was free. It was truly awesome to witness the irrefutable unspoken communication taking place and the triumphant finale was exhilarating. Seeing a couple of birds hop a fence, in itself, would be cool as a fan of nature, but it was the intuitive metaphorical poignancy that made this so significant for me. The following is the message that I perceived beyond the dirt, metal and feathers.