Odds ...

It is estimated that there are 400 million doves on the planet ...it's a number that's often associated with abundance of stars in the night sky.

And one was waiting patiently for me ... to return home ... on Monday.

It sat totally still ... calmly & deliberately it stared me down ... as if it had an important message to share ... and I was reminded of the prompting weeks ago ... to pay attention to the birds. (For The Birds...)

It didn't even flinch ... when I pulled out my camera, opened the car door and stepped closer ... for the picture.

Odd ... that one was sitting in my yard ... basking in the 110 degree heat.  Doves are most commonly thought of as winter birds.  And odder still was the fact that it was alone.

It was an intense encounter ... between the dove and me ... and it left me wondering ... what to make of it.  So naturally, I did a little research.

When a dove appears there will be messages & opportunities for growth.

That's the first thing I found as I dug around.  I am always keen on messages ... and I was pretty sure that the dove sighting itself was a message of some significance.

As for opportunities for growth ... well, that generally means more challenges ahead.  And with my purpose for the week already firmly set ... that really wasn't too much of a surprise.

Doves hold the energy of promise.

I have been tired ... more like exhausted ... so much of the time lately.  The energy of promise sounds wonderful and refreshing.

That passage went on to say that when our inner turmoil is cleared, the possibility of good fortune awaits us and healing on all levels is paramount.

All good stuff. Healing ... on all levels ... seems to be taking such a very long time.

When a dove makes an appearance, one often finds unexpected, unseen support & assistance comes when it is most needed.

The week has been spent trying to unravel the morass of Jessi's Medicaid situation.  Actually, it's really pretty straightforward and clear ... yet all tangled up in conflicting interpretations of one simple word ... that reads one way in the federal law ... and is defined another way in the Arkansas policy.

The word is ... receive.

I am told that it is the first time anyone has come forward with this specific complication ... ever ... that somehow our situation is rare & unique.  Imagine that.

Actually ... it's not so uncommon ..  I continue to argue ... or there would not be a couple of clear & specific provisions lined out in the federal law to alleviate the confusion ... in situations like ours ...

And once again the interpretation factor comes into play.   What does it actually mean to ... receive ... that continues to be the question.

The thought of unexpected support & assistance is comforting.  And as the week unfolded, it became apparent to me that some behind the scenes activity is taking place as each day ended with tentative steps forward ... and ... no whammies!

When a dove appears ... prominently ... it signifies great change ... possibly even relocation to a new home.

Pretty sure that this appearance was a prominent one ... it was definitely noticeable.  Big solo dove ... sunbathing ... in front of the house.  And relocations ... and new homes ... have been the at the forefront of activities over here in my life ... for quite some time.

Sometimes a dove sighting is a forewarning of a death ... either physically or symbolicly ... and while it may bring grief, there is also a sense of relief & gratitude that suffering has finally ended ... and that peace will soon be at hand.

Pretty sure there is a message of symbolic death ... for me.  Once the ravel is untangled ... life as I know it will be undergoing a radical change.  All good ... but a symbolic death, for sure ... as we all step into the reality of what's coming next.

And the week, seemed to be full of physical deaths in families belonging to my friends.  Sure hope that peace will flow over on to them as well.

Another common meaning of a dove on the horizon deals with relationships.  A new relationship may begin ... or an old one rekindled.  That made me smile.

Sometimes I get a little myopic ... and there's that pesky friendship ... that continues to perplex and frustrate me ... lurking around the fringes of my life.  Not sure if it just vanished into thin air ... or is simply on hold ... once again.

When I ran across the idea of a rekindled relationship ... I secretly hoped for that one.

By the end of the week, I discovered that a very special NEW relationship was bursting forth ... spontaneously and unsolicited.  It's with a whole family ... of beautiful souls ... fun & interesting ... and I am positive that we are all going to be blessed ... from the friendship ... in the days ahead.

The essence of the dove ... appearing in one's life ... is that life is about to become much more peaceful & satisfying ... on all levels. And that one should let go of what has passed ... and be open to the promise of the future.

Hard not to like ... all of that.

Immediately following the bird's departure, I posted the picture on Facebook ... looking for identification.  I wasn't familiar with it ... and had never seen one like it in my yard before.  I thought it might be
a pigeon ... and sure enough, I discovered that doves are often mistaken for pigeons.
So I didn't feel totally bird-illiterate.

My friends, of course, came through quickly ... letting me know it was a dove.  And, quite possibly,
dinner ... depending on whether one was a hunter or not.

... and who knew there were so many types of doves?

It was thought to be a mourning dove by some.  One friend offered up a Ring Neck Dove ... that came up from Cuba ... followed by the observation that there was "no limit" on them in season.  And an older & wiser friend tagged it as an Eurasian Collared Dove ... that is known to range in the southern states from Texas to Florida.  He pointed out that the Ring Neck Dove doesn't come from Cuba ... but from Africa ... with the only known stateside flock being found in Alaska.

So I went looking for some pictures ... because ... I wanted a positive identification.

Photo evidence confirmed that it was the rarer ... Ring Neck Dove. And that it is NOT common in the United States. And upon researching the specifics of the Ring Neck Dove ... it is found that some camps believe it is a domesticated version of the Eurasian Collared Dove family ... others claim it as a branch of the African Collared Dove genealogy.  Obviously, there's a lot of native pride amongst doves.

The Ring Neck Dove is commonly referred to as the Barbary Dove.  And in some readings, it was also referred to as the Laughing Dove.

Cool.  The bird that was laying in wait .. for  me ... on a hot summer afternoon ... was laughing.

Once I had identified the origins and name of MY dove ... the findings became more interesting ... personal ... and powerful.

The dove has long been held as a symbol of peace.

According to the biblical account of the flood, Noah had sent out a raven first, which didn’t come back and then a week later, sent a dove that returned with an olive branch in its beak, which was a sign of land and of the peace that was to come.

In the Bible account, it was a dove that landed on Jesus when baptized by John the Baptist.  “At that moment heaven was opened and the Spirit of God came down in the form of a dove and landed on Jesus. And a voice from heaven spoke and said, ‘This is My beloved, in whom I am so pleased with!’ (Matthew 3:16-17).”

The Ring Neck Dove ... or the Barbary Dove ... is believed to be the dove ... of the Bible.  And the meaning associated with MY specific dove ... on page after page ... was always the same:

An appearance of the Barbary (Ring Neck) Dove is an encounter with the Holy Spirit.

Even as I write this .... days after the actual interaction ... with the dove ... and it's deliberate, steady gaze ... I become overwhelmed with emotions at the memory of the encounter.

Who am I?!?  That the Holy Spirit ... God ... would choose to reveal Himself to in such a
visible, physical fashion?!?

And what IS the message that He was so intently conveying?!?!

It's taken a few days ... and a lot of time spent talking ... out loud ... with no response from He who was listening.  Than in the wee hours of the morning ...  a couple of nights ago ... the laughter came ... the laughter of the Laughing Dove ...

"Who are you, MJ?!?  You are mine!" That's what He said. "Why in the world are you so surprised?!? I stop by ... all of the time."

Stunned ... I sat up and shook off the sleep ... all of my questions had been answered by my best friend, God, Creator of the Universe.

 ... and, silly as it seems,  all I could think was that the Native Americans believed that the sighting of a dove was a sign of rain to come.

"Is it going to rain?", I asked out loud.

The soft chuckle rolled into a side-splitting chortle ... and my Best Friend and I enjoyed a rip-snorting roll-on-the-floor ... laughing ... as the sound of thunder was heard in the distant ... followed by a flash of lightning.  Then for the first time ... in weeks and weeks ... the rain fell ... in my front yard.

Then the whisper came ... you see, the rain was an outward sign ... of the personal message that He came to deliver ... face-to-face ... to me ... because it was intimate ... and important ... He wanted to be sure that I was ... receiving ... it.

I love you ... THISSSS ... much!!! 

That's what God whispered in my ear.

The odds of a single dove ... waiting for you in your front yard ... are 1 in 400 million. About the same as your wish ... finding its star ... and coming true.

God has such a large sense of humor.  He laughs with me often.  And the Laughing Dove ... well, there's no doubt that the pun is intended.

Today ... the probability of 1 in 10 million ... somehow feels as if ... it's within reach.

Humbled, I am.  Amen.

www.lifelessons-mj.blogspot.com
(c) August 2012