do robins cry when baby birds die?

i was greeted each morning for the past month by a robin who kept "attacking" her own reflection in our family room window. it wasn't enough for her to attack that window, but she proceeded to visit other windows of our home leaving behind a feathery mess. i wondered what was going on...until i discovered her nest neatly tucked against the house and the drain pipe. a house so skillfully built.. day after day dave, the girls, and i would peek out the door and observe her on her nest..sitting like a princess on her throne. father bird gathered slimey worms and would feed her...at times he would watch the "eggs" while she canvased the garden for tasty treats.

this went on for weeks...during severe rain storms...faithfully sitting on her future flock, protecting, giving...bird teacher telling me that motherhood in the animal kingdom is also about sacrifice. and so i personally observed, took notice, of this bird couple about to hatch a family. until the other day....

i came home to find the nest on the ground and one baby robin dying almost dead. that is when the tears flowed. now why did i cry about a baby bird that died? i wondered if the robins cry when their babies die? of course these are fleeting thoughts...and birds are not people...yet the tears came anyway and the sting was felt...that sometimes, even in sacrifice, when you have done all you can do...dreams fall to the ground and shatter. life turns to death..a page is turned a chapter ended and possibly a book is closed. dreams and visions of what a "flock" would look like takes flight on different wings, catches the winds in directions unfamiliar and sometimes lands in unpleasant places. these are the times where sorrow is felt in mothering...where one...i should say "i" wonder...could i have done better? could i have predicted this outcome? could i have prevented this from happening?

but then i pick up the nest in my hands and carefully exam...each piece of hay, grass entwined, a home weaved from nature itself...hard work on display for all to see...commitment, care, protection...the nest tells me the work is good regardless of the outcome. i can't always "see" the work from the "results" they often bleed together in my thoughts.

and i think of why...why do i do the things i do? is it to look good to others? to somehow prove that i am capable? am i eager to live a life of ease? or do i do what i do to delight the one who observes all? am i "working" to honor Him in all things and leave the results to Him...or better yet, to trust Him with the results...because you see the "results" are not over yet...there is still life and breath...He is still in control over all the affairs of life...over my flock. as i am typing , i can see the strong, beautiful nest out my window....i kept it on a porch table ... a reminder....my efforts are not in vain if they are done for Him.....

....male robin plucks dried grass from nest...flies to another nest...building for the future continues...