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Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
COLOSSIANS 3:17 ESV
Reliving some of my favorite wildlife adventures brings a favorite poem to mind. Most people are familiar with its first stanza, which James Herriot popularized in his book series about his veterinarian practice in the Yorkshire Dales. The original author of the poem, however, was Anglican hymn lyricist Cecil Frances Alexander, who first wrote these lines in her 1848 version of Hymns for Little Children. Very appropriately, then, they actually form the first verse of a famous hymn of praise to God:
All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
The Lord God made them all.
The second verse of the hymn is lovely, too, especially the “tiny wings” part:
Each little flower that opens,
Each little bird that sings,
He made their glowing colours,
He made their tiny wings.
I won’t reproduce the whole hymn, but my favorite is the seventh and last verse, which goes,
He gave us eyes to see them,
And lips that we might tell,
How great is God Almighty,
Who has made all things well.
We just cannot escape the fact that God cares deeply about everything He made. And because He cares, we care. As believers, we can have God’s heart for humankind and also have His heart for His other creatures. I believe He gave us big enough hearts that there is room for both.
I realize that humankind is unique. God literally breathed His very breath of life into us: “Then the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person” (Genesis 2:7). In the Hebrew, that “breath” of life, or něshamah, can be translated as “spirit.”1 We are spirit, as God is Spirit. In that way, we humans are uniquely a reflection of Him, and we are therefore capable of relating to Him in a unique way. That is the priceless privilege of our kind. Yet the particular delight He takes in us in no way negates the delight He takes in the rest of this earth’s creatures.
Not to Mention All the Animals…
For all the intrinsic value God places on His human children, I think His Word indicates that He also places a great deal of value on the animals. It tickles me every time I read through God’s conversation with Jonah outside the city of Nineveh. Certainly, He sent Jonah to that sin-wracked city to preach repentance to the many thousands of lost human souls, that they might avoid the destruction their sin threatened them with and get things right with God. But notice God’s parting comment to Jonah in the very last verse of the Bible book that bears Jonah’s name: “Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals. Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city?” (Jonah 4:11, emphasis added).
Imagine God dropping in that comment about His creatures right at the end as a parting thought: not to mention all the animals. Our Creator was reluctant to see the city of Nineveh destroyed, and this was primarily because of—but not only because of—His human children toward whom His compassion flowed. God was also concerned because of all the animals. That shouts to me of their importance. While animals may not be the pinnacle of His creation, His compassion flows toward them in some measure, just as it flows toward us.
If animals were of little or no value to God, He would have had no reason to mention them to Jonah or to see that His comment was recorded in Scripture for us to read throughout the ages. And that does not even take into account the book of Jonah’s mention of that famous or infamous “whale” (if indeed that’s what this big sea creature was—a point scholars are still debating). What Sunday school child can forget hearing for the first time the story of Jonah spending three days and nights in the belly of a big fish? I have to believe that it tickled God to orchestrate such a phenomenal event using one of His most magnificent creatures of the sea. In fact, have you ever read this glorious description of the sea creatures?
Here is the ocean, vast and wide,
teeming with life of every kind,
both large and small.
See the ships sailing along,
and Leviathan, which you made to play in the sea.
They all depend on you
to give them food as they need it.
When you supply it, they gather it.
You open your hand to feed them,
and they are richly satisfied (Psalm 104:25-28).
This Scripture says that the ocean, vast and wide, is teeming with all kinds of life, large and small. What enchanting images—an ocean literally swimming with life and a God who opens His hand and satisfies the needs of every living thing.
Apparently God enjoys, cares for, and is even amused by the wealth of creatures that He made in addition to humankind. Of course, I want to love and care about people, as He does. Yet the fact that He would have compassion on the animals gives me reason enough to have compassion on them as well. I want God’s character and love to shine through my compassionate heart toward all His creatures. He took great care intricately designing the birds and beasts, and then He took great care putting humankind in charge of stewarding them. That charge to steward them plays out in my life through my wildlife rehabilitation. It may play out in other ways in your life. But for all of us, I think it is meant to play out somehow.
Doing What I Do…
I certainly don’t expect everyone to do what I do with wildlife. Your journey walking with the Lord will not look the same as mine or anyone else’s. Together we form one body of Christ, but with many different parts and just as many individual gifts (see Romans 12:4-6; 1 Corinthians 12:12-31). If you and I each do the things God tells us to do in this area and others, everything He wants us to accomplish will get done!
Having acknowledged that, I want to mention that if you are drawn to doing wildlife rehabilitation, you’ll want to do your homework first and make sure it’s a good fit for you.2 Each country and even each state in the United States has its own requirements for wildlife rehabbing, often including putting in some class time and volunteer hours and then taking a test. Usually, an online search about wildlife rehabilitation in your area will bring up a wealth of information.3
In addition, you can visit my website, trishann.com, to see more stories and pictures about what day-to-day wildlife rehabilitation can involve. Everywhere I know, rehabbers are in high demand and short supply. Your involvement would be welcome!
Stories Yet to Unfold
Along our way in these pages, I have shared some stories about the most memorable wild creatures that have come and gone under my care (with the exception of Pigeon George, who never would go anywhere else). Skeeter and that first Ringtail Gang were unrivaled at turning our lives upside down. That first bunch of ringtails was a huge challenge and no mistake, although I made plenty of mistakes with them on my steep learning curve.
Spark’s transformation—from a little pinkie ember baking away in a hot parking lot to a flaming red squirrel racing up and down trees, wild and free—was an unrivaled joy to see.
Pigeon George became the poster pigeon for wildlife rehab gone wrong—the unrivaled expert at teaching me how wildlife rehab can go sideways, into the unexpected.
Jay-Jay and the Early Birds demonstrated how fiercely determined or achingly fragile the feathered species can be. The birds of the air are the winged wonders of creation, no mistake.
Bunny the sole survivor and Frodo the singleton ringtail proved how much hope there is for the hopeless. Frodo’s story also showed that even the rescuers sometimes need rescuing, and there’s hope for that too. I was thrilled to play a part in those success stories.
I’m confident that many more wildlife tales are yet to unfold and are yet to be told, and each story will be unique and amazing. As I write this, spring season is creeping up on us in Northern Michigan. Warmer weather is only a month or so away, although it can be hard to pinpoint its arrival in the Mitten State. Whenever spring arrives, rehabbers everywhere will become wildly busy again after their winter break, and the Lion’s Den will begin to fill up again. And I’ll marvel all over again at the wonder of the creatures great and small, and the way that their Creator loves them all.
1Blue Letter Bible Lexicon online, Strong’s H5397, s.v. něshamah, www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=H5397.
2One helpful tool in analyzing whether or not wildlife rehab is a good fit is Peggy Hentz’s four-part YouTube series “Introduction to Wildlife Rehabilitation,” in which she details the ins and outs and ups and downs of this activity. You can find part 1 at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9NY74uanm8.
3Another helpful tool that would be informative for anyone is the article “Wildlife Rehabilitation: Is It for You?” on Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources website: https://www.michigan.gov/documents/dnr/WLD_Wildlife_Rehabilitation-Is_It_For_You_341551_7.pdf. By googling the article title, you’ll find many similar articles from different states and organizations.