A long time ago, when I was living in Italy, one day I started dancing in the streets of Milano. I was feeling so happy I was literally running to the Unification Church center because I thought I had finally found what I was looking for.
 
One night, coming back home and feeling emotionally distressed and disturbed by what I was learning, and losing at that time my so called “boyfriend,” I threw my bag and coat on the sofa and headed to the kitchen. There were two birds in a cage there with the purpose of singing for me or on display for me to look at their beautiful colors. I sat by the kitchen table and started crying. That’s what I do if I do not know how to find my way.
 
Warm tears started falling from my eyes. I noticed when I started crying the birds started singing. I paused, and they paused too. Then I started crying again, then sobbing. The more I was sobbing the more the birds sang with joy and more loudly. How could this be?  I thought, I am in turmoil and those birds seems happy about my circumstances.
 
It was God’s plan back then, through the beautiful creation that God made, He gave me insight that all those dramas will pass, and that He had me on the road He wanted me to be on. The road where I would find my direction, and the true purpose of my life, my life mission and above all the man of my life, my true love for eternity. Love cannot be felt alone. We arrive at the kingdom in pairs.

Lately I have been working together with Dr. Tanabe a colleague of my husband, Dietrich. She also has birds in her kitchen. When talking meaningful things, or sharing some passages to include in a book, or a new idea, her birds would accompany our discussions with joyful singing. And when they sang louder than our voices, we were on the right track. We felt God’s touch every time this happened.

Rev. Moon, affectionately called True Father, shared this bird story in a message entitled “Where And How Do You Want To Live Your Life?” which he gave at Belvedere on June 9, 1996:

“When Father was growing up he felt he had to conquer every aspect of creation. Once Father caught a mother bird and three baby birds together and kept them in his house. At that point Father didn’t realize that there was a father bird. All of a sudden the father bird appeared and began to cry in a sad voice. When this father bird looked at Father, he cried even more sadly because True Father was the destroyer of this bird’s family. Then Father released the birds, one by one. The sad tone of the father bird’s song lessened. Finally, when all three baby birds were released this father bird seemed content. But when the mother bird was released then the whole family of birds greeted Father and then flew away. How did Father know that they came and greeted him? Because they circled Father’s house and then flew away.“

We can learn so much about life and love from birds. Birds are truly comforting to people’s heart.

Your friend, Elisabeth Seidel