Now That’s Commitment!

In his book of true illustrations, Ivor Powell tells of an acquaintance in South Africa who was compelled to stop at the side of the road because a dove refused to move out of the way. Upon inspection he noticed that the dove was standing next to its dead mate, undoubtedly killed by another car. Approaching close to the bird still didn’t cause it to leave. He finally picked it up, gently stroked it and threw it up into the air. It circled the area and then returned to its post beside the dead mate. Several times the man repeated his efforts to get the dove to leave permanently, but to no avail.

Later that day, on his return trip, the driver spotted two dead doves at that same spot, probably killed by a driver who expected the dove to escape in time. What could possibly be the sunny side of this story? It’s a very sad story. It’s enough to make you cry! Nobody would ever die for me. But wait! Good Friday is near. Crucifixion! Somebody did die for me!

Both accounts herald devotion and faithfulness to a cause. They also make us think of health care workers and caregivers who give up a lot to support those with severely debilitating illnesses at home or in places like Sunnybank, McKinney Place, the hospital and Heritage House. It must be very emotionally draining to work with someone like that for a long time, only to see them slip away. We applaud your faithful commitment.

Keeping on the sunny side,
Henry Wiebe