We have many memories of our journey of uncompromising faith. Some are full of joy and awe at God’s powerful hand of provision. Others are full of such pain that every year our hearts weep for the loss. Today is such an anniversary as we remember our dear bird Cordi.
The following is an excerpt from our book Wilderness – How to Marry Jesus in 10 Years or Less.
The dream
On the morning of November 20th, I received a significant dream from the Lord. In this dream I walked into a church. Inside, were 4 ladies at tables, all in a row, handing out bulletins for the service. The first lady ignored me, but the next one gave me a bulletin. I walked past them and into the sanctuary. There was only one man there, who was familiar to me. He strode up, friendly, and said these words “[Homer], God is going to lead you into the valley of despair; but then He will lead you out.”
There was a long pause between the word ‘despair’ and the word ‘but’. After this message, He gave me a hug and the dream ended. Upon waking, I pondered the imagery and meaning of the dream, and shared my experience with Wanda. We knew the dream was significant, but had no quality interpretation. It didn’t take long to appear.
Our four 'ladies'
In the front entryway of our house, were the 4 bird cages with our 4 ‘ladies.’ Cordi, our beloved black capped conure, was closest to our bedroom. Next was Colors, Fanny’s lovebird. Then there was Destiny, our quaker. Closest to the front door was Lennie-girl. This was Ida’s Senegal parrot. We loved these birds. On this fateful day we would endure such trauma, that it would take months to recover. By day’s end, the pall of death would envelop our little blue house.
Death
That cold, dark afternoon, Angus came by to pick up the camper and I went outside to help. When I came back to the house, I saw Cordi lying on the ground; just outside the front door. This was puzzling, for she was never out of doors except in her cage. I picked her up and took her inside. Something had happened. As I held her precious struggling life in my hand, and looked into her eyes, she passed away. Shock and disbelief gave way to explosive grief. Cordi, our favorite little bird and the most colorful of all, was gone.
Burial
We wrapped her little body in cloth, with myrrh from Jerusalem, and placed her in a box. Solemnly, we walked to the land we had intended to buy, and dug a small grave. There we buried our hearts; along with our beautiful girl. Losing the R.V. that day was hard; but losing Cordi was devastating. Her passing triggered 3 months of intense mourning. Wanda was inconsolable. Our little lady’s death marked the beginning of tragedies that seemed unending; foreshadowing the rough road ahead. My dream was coming to pass.
Grieving
The loss of our beloved Cordi was arguably the most difficult we had to endure during our time in the little blue house. Sometimes we have seen our little friend in dreams and cherish her memory. We know that she is safe and warm with her Creator and we look forward to the day when we will be reunited.
No matter what living being we have loved passes from this life to the next we know God cares for each one. He carefully records our love for them in His book of Remembrance. Our hope remains steadfast that we will see Cordi again some day soon but our hearts still ache for the loss.
Blessings,
Homer and Wanda
How precious is the love of our pets! I believe we will see them again! 🙂 Sorry to heat you had to go through the valley, but God will use it for His purpose! 🙂
Thank you Renee! Bless you!
Welcome and blessings to you! Did y’all ever get a crock pot? I know this is random, but I passed by one the other day and thought of you and your wife. 🙂
Why yes we did Renee. Thank you for remembering. The crock pot has been extremely useful in this tiny place. In fact we cooked bread and a dump cake in it yesterday. We have also cooked turkey, ham, cinnamon buns, poppy seed rolls, moussaka, lasagne and many stews in it as well. 🙂 We don’t have much but we tend to make the most of what God blesses us with. The slow cooker is just another example of His great goodness to us! Blessings to you!
I’m so happy to hear that you were blessed with one! ?
What a cutie! Beautiful colours! My aunt use to have lots of birds and she would teach them to say prayers from the Bible! No kidding! Sorry to hear about your little guy! It’s always hard when our best buddies leave for sure! BUT God has them there is no doubt!
Awesome! He sure does. I am sure Cordi found a nesting site right next to some sparrows. 😉 May our Father increase your blessing today!
Cordi was beautiful. Green is my favorite color. Pets hold a special place in our hearts. ?
Thank you Dawn. They sure do. The memory of my last day with her will never leave. Blessings to you from the Father.
Blessings Homer to you and Wanda!
Beautiful birds by the way. ?
Thank you so much Renee. We miss them all so much!
May our Father bless you richly today!
Pet’s can be like family members. Cordi looks just like my son’s green checked conure, Lucy. May you remember the beautiful memories you had with Cordi. And may your hearts heal.
Thank you so much Theresa. May our Father bless you richly!