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On a recent trip to the eastern shore of the Chesapeake, we visited Tilghman Island. As we meandered down side roads, crossed low bridges over salt marshes near sleepy inlets, we noticed groupings of wooden pilings standing in the water near the salt marshes. Several poles were strapped together and a flat platform was attached to the top of the poles. Again and again these poles with platforms appeared in dozens of different locations along the way. They were obviously put in all those places in the hope of attracting large birds to nest. Little did we realize at the time that the large birds that they were trying to woo were eagles. Each pole stood as a silent sentinel of hope with the platform seeming like the large open hand of a waiter carrying an empty tray. It was not until late in the day when we were turning the car around on one of the narrow roads near the water that we spotted a large eagle landing on a nearby pole. It had built a nest there. After landing it stood still looking majestic against the backdrop of blue. We couldn't believe our eyes. We shut off the engine and watched in disbelief as a second eagle glided over the surface of the water and then swooped up into the nest beside the other. A pair of bald eagles stood side by side before us looking like something I had only seen in a nature magazine. Here they were in real life. It took all of those posts with platforms that were driven into the water near the marshes to make the area around Tilghman Island welcoming again to eagles. As we drove back, each empty post that we passed seemed like a welcome sign. Someone had driven each one of those pilings into its place as an act of faith. They must have felt the way a builder does when he puts up a sign in front of an empty lot that simply says available. There is such hope in those signs. I think praying
is often like that. It is not that we have arrived or feel especially
religious when we pray, it s just that we have a longing in our hearts
for the Spirit of God to come bless us, to be with us, to make a home in
us. So we lift up our hands and hearts in countless places in the
same manner as those empty posts are lifted up for the eagles to return.
Each time we pray we lift up our hearts toward heaven and silently announce,
available . --H.S.
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