“But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19 (KJV)
I love animals, but I’ve never considered a parakeet a companion like a dog or cat. However, when my precious friend Deb divorced and wanted a companion, she didn’t have a lot of choices. With health problems and an inability to walk a dog or lift a litter box, she decided to try a feathered friend.
Deb picked up Golda—a yellow-beaked talker—from a local pet store. During my first visit, Deb told me to sit in the leather recliner, set my iPhone on the armrest, and wait. Golda loved smartphones.
Deb played Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, “Ode to Joy,” and other classics, supplying the pretty bird with a steady diet of chirp-worthy music. Often, Golda hopped from one piece of furniture to the other, keeping the beat as she moved closer to the speakers. Was this how a parakeet danced?
My eyes widened as the bird climbed the side of the chair, perched on my friend’s shoulder, and gently pecked at Deb’s cheek. My heart warmed. I studied the type of communication, play, and love between this golden bird and my friend, similar to the kind of communication God extends to His children with a gentle nudge or silent touch to the heart.
Golda fluttered around the room, lifting her golden wings like an angel and swooping down. I flinched as yellow feathers fluttered near my cheek before she landed on the armrest by my iPhone. I didn’t budge. Her head turned, and she studied me like I was a foreign creature to behold, large and fearsome.
Then, tiny claws reached out and slid across my phone screen. Golda didn’t care about scratches; she loved Beethoven more. She shifted her weight from one bony leg to the other and nearly slipped across the glass like a waltzing ice dancer.
As choral singers raised their heavenly voices, the golden parakeet flew away, swooping over the dining room table until my friend and I laughed. I closed my eyes and joined the chorus, lifting my voice to the creator of the universe, rejoicing in the moment’s beauty.
When Golda returned to her cage, Deb shared the story of traveling from Montana to Wisconsin with her feathered friend in the back seat. My cat hated car rides, but Golda loved to travel. Deb showed me pictures of her golden parakeet at a rest stop. The pretty bird—still inside her carrier—basked in the sunlight. While driving, Deb spotted the bird in her rearview mirror, watching trucks, trailers, and cars flash by.
Golda may not be the type of companion I’m used to, but Deb and her parakeet changed my mind about the meaning of companionship and how God sometimes unexpectedly blesses us with His goodness. Not only did I witness how God supplied my friend with all her needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus, but He also increased my faith that He can supply yours and mine. All we must do is believe and receive.
