Snowy Owl's Gaze

For many days cars stopped on the shoulder of Route 20A where groups of people would gather with binoculars and spotting telescopes. The draw? A snowy owl that arrived mid afternoons to perch on fence posts, a tree, or telephone poles near the Wyoming-Livingston county line. It was a rare sighting. Perhaps a once in a lifetime sighting. Most snowy owls stay much farther north in the polar regions.

Usually I don't have my camera with me. But one Saturday afternoon I had it with me as I passed the owl's usual hangout. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a huge bird swooping behind some trees. Could it be the snowy owl? I turned my car around and slowly drove back the way I had come. There! Some 200 feet ahead, perched on the telephone pole sat the owl. Knowing how skittish the owl was, I walked forward slowly, taking pictures as I advanced. Glancing at me only occasionally, the snowy owl kept looking all around. (Owls can swivel their heads 270 degrees.) I advanced until I was standing right across the road from the owl. I marveled that my presence hadn't driven him away.

I wanted the snowy owl to look at me, so I whistled. His head snapped around in my direction, and his eyes looked straight at me. I took a picture. Then the owl looked away from me and around at the surrounding fields. I whistled once more. Again the snowy owl looked directly at me, but this time he lifted his huge wings and gracefully and silently took flight.

I thought of the verses I had read that week in Numbers, the 4th book of the Bible. In that place, God revealed the words by which His people were to be blessed. It's the same benediction that we still hear recited in our churches. The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Numbers 6:24-26 Isn't it wonderful to know that God can look directly at us. And in doing that, He wants to bless us.

How interesting, I thought, that we long to have others look at us. Whether it's a snowy owl, other people, or God, we want to be noticed. Obviously, I couldn't be content with just any picture of the snowy owl. I whistled to get his undivided attention. And, likewise, we do all kinds of things to get and keep the attention of people we admire.

I looked up the meaning of "countenance" in Webster's. It means the look on a person's face that shows approval and support. Isn't that what we desire from others? I know I do! Unfortunately, we find that even our most dearly loved family members and friends will eventually disappoint us in this regard. Their faces turn away from us. They may even leave us (like the snowy owl left me). When the approval of our loved one is not upon us, we sense the loss of support, grace, blessing and peace. Not to have our loved ones looking at us with a shining face of love is heartbreak! Devastating heartbreak!

That's when the words from the Bible become precious to us. Although human beings fail us, God won't. He's revealed His heart toward His own in these words from the Bible.