The Strength that accompanies Faith

In the last few months, I have come across people who were shaken from their stable and comfortable lives by the unforgiving economic crisis. Some of them have gone back to their native countries. Some are holding on and searching for other opportunities to keep their aspirations afloat. I have had the opportunity to talk to them and understand their hopes and fears. I have seen well educated and experienced professionals panicking and behaving as if their chances are very bleak. On the other hand I have seen others getting on with their hunt exuding confidence as symbols of peace and tranquility. I was convinced that it was something within them that made them so different. Inquisitive as I am, I asked one of them the reason for his relaxedness. He told me a story that I want to share with you today.
When he was young, a sparrow built a nest on the sun shade of the store room of his house. Along with his siblings, he used to visit the store room everyday watching with avid interest the progress of the nest. One day they were gifted with the sound of loud chirping and by standing on their toes they could see a few restless beaks calling out impatiently to their mother. She would return soon and would lovingly feed the hungry mouths. Watching this became a regular routine, till the day tragedy struck. The mother sparrow accidently flew into the store room, struck itself against the fan and got thrown on the ground, a mass of mangled blood and feathers. The kids were heartbroken. As their maid scooped up the dead bird and gave it a decent burial, they couldn’t stand the loud chirping of the little ones. This chirping lasted all evening and the kids went to sleep with a heavy heart, assured that the babies would be dead by day break. On the next day, immediately after getting up, they ran into the store room and were gifted with a very amazing sight. The babies were chirping as usual and another sparrow was feeding them. A stray bird upon hearing the frantic and weak cries had decided to adopt the babies. The old routine ensued and as days went by, each baby grew stronger and bigger and finally flew off the nest ……
The same god who spent a foster sparrow to take care of the helpless babies will take care of us… all we need to do is to keep chirping without giving up….. And you don’t give up when you have faith.