The brown feathery owl reached out a wing towards the crowd of birds perched around him. “The day I will never forget occurred during my second summer with Doctor Samuel at the sanctuary. Feeling cocky, I believed I was the wisest owl alive until I met them….” Frank paused while glancing back and forth at his captive audience. “…the Mourning Doves, Jack and Dianne.” Lowering his wing, the Pygmy Owl shrugged. “At first, Jack and Dianne didn’t seem special. No fancy feathers bathed in bright colours. Just a couple of grey looking birds with heads that seemed too small for their bodies.” Scooting alongside his branch, Frank continued. “But I learned that day that the most beautiful souls have the most regular appearances. This brings me to the first life lesson Jack and Dianne taught me. Anyone want to venture a guess?”

Jumping up and flapping his wings, Clarence shouted out. “Most birds don’t have bladders.”

“No.” Frank corrected the barn swallow and with a puzzled expression asked. “What is a bladder?”

Voices echoed through the sanctuary as other birds responded. “A bladder makes the humans pee.”

MorningStar shook her feathers. “No, a bladder is what the humans hear out of.”

“Do you know what appears to us as one head of a sunflower is really a thousand individual flowers?” Lucy, the hummingbird, chimed loudly over the other voices. The brown owl shook his head and raised both wings up to indicate he wanted silence. “No, everybody – stop. The first thing you need to understand is you never judge a bird by its appearance.” Silence filled the air. “You should not assume you know or understand a bird’s heart or intentions sheerly based on the exterior whether it be: short or tall, fluffy or lean and bright or dull feathers. An appearance is just a soul’s outer shell. Nothing more – nothing less.”

“This brings me to a very important man – Jesus Christ, the Messiah. Jesus Christ saved mankind by dying on the cross for our sins. He rose again on the third day and ascended into heaven. Basically, all of humankind are sinners and Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins. We need to be baptized, confess our sins and repent. Jesus Christ described it as being ‘born again’ which can be considered as a ‘spiritual rebirth.’ Now this brings me to the mourning birds, Jack and Dianne. Jack explained to me that Mourning Doves were there at the beginning of creation, and they were born to worship and obey God.”

“Mourning Doves mate for life. So Jack and Dianne have been mated only with each other. And the way they cuddle and preen each other, you would think that they had just met.” Frank raised a feather to his beak. “It was so wonderful seeing them together. Brings a tear to my eye.”

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“Well, that’s easy as your eyes are so big.” MorningStar chirped in.

Frank turned towards the young magpie obviously irritated. “MorningStar, you never make a comment about how big someone’s eyes are. Don’t you have any manners? Didn’t your mother teach you any better?”

Twisting her head to the side, she could not quite understand why Frank was acting so grouchy. His eyes were abnormally large from any of the birds. Any feathered friend could see that. Without a thought in her head, she replied. “No, I didn’t have a mother. I fell out of the nest, remember?” She paused for a second trying to understand Frank’s expression. She felt that she did something wrong. She must have screwed up again, so MorningStar tried to steer the focus. “Why is mating for life a good thing?”

“Tell me that bird brain didn’t just ask that question?”

“Hush Diesel, MorningStar is young.” Pam jumped down to a branch above the black and white Magpie. “MorningStar, mating for life is the best for baby birds. When baby birds know Mom and Dad love each other very much, it makes the babies feel more secure.”

Clarence chimed in. “Sometimes, it doesn’t happen that way. One of the two may get lost or injured; therefore, one grown bird is left to care for the babies. Life happens. It just gives the baby birds the best start when Mom and Dad are both present.”

Frank spoke gently to MorningStar and the group. “The Mourning Doves, Jack and Dianne said being soulmates for life is not an easy path, but it is the healthiest and best for them. Some days may be quite rocky with each other, but Dianne says they push through the rough to get to the good days. Jack explained that for the two of them, they found it best to take times guiding each other. Dianne was better at navigating where Jack was better at finding food. By taking turns, they avoided fighting each other for power. These two Mourning Doves valued and respected each other, and Dianne put it the best. ‘They learned to ride the wind together.’ But they did give me one warning.” Frank raised his wings. “Do not build your nest before you are paired with your mate. Building your nest before finding your mate could lead you to focus on the non-important traits of your partner. It can steal your attention from finding the best mate that suits you.”

“How do you know when you have found the right mate?” MorningStar asked the group.

“That is a good question.” Frank responded twisting his head to gaze at the group. “Could anyone tell MorningStar how to know if you have found the right mate?”

“If she doesn’t give me a headache when she talks.”

“DIESEL” Pam yelled and bounced on her perch. “You can hold your opinions to yourself.” The kind female bird turned towards MorningStar. “When you are willing to live to serve each other and in turn serve other birds.”

Lucy, the hummingbird spoke softly. “I think the ideal mate kind, thoughtful and a fast flier.”

“My ideal mate would love me for who I am. My good qualities and my not-so-great qualities.” Clarence stated to MorningStar.

“Well, that really narrows down the field.” Diesel exclaimed and then followed by Clarence flying directly at the sarcastic bird almost knocking him off the perch.