As I Walked through the living room, a cheerful voice piped up from Sydney’s cage. “Hello Sydney, hello baby, Sydney is such a pretty bird, gimme kiss, whistle while you work.” All this outpouring of words is intended to stop me in my tracks so I will come over and pay attention to him. It usually works. Sydney is as affectionate to us as any dog could be. He loves to cuddle and kiss us. He visibly brightens when we enter the room and reacts joyfully when we say his name. He was a hand-raised cockatiel, which means that a human took over the job of feeding him as soon as he hatched. This causes the baby bird to become bonded with people and they make far better pets than if raised the normal way. It is a lot of work for the person who has to feed them so often, all day and night, but the result is worth the effort.
The other day while talking with our daughter, Leslie, she was telling me you could tell that a certain couple’s children were hand raised. The phrase struck me as being wonderfully appropriate. She continued and said, “Too bad that more children aren’t hand raised. There is a big difference between the way children act who are given lots of individual attention and the kids who are left to run amok.”
I agree with her. Children need constant care and supervision, and parents sometimes get tired of all that hand raising. Sometimes it would be easier to turn the head for awhile, to ignore that rude comment or to let destructive behavior slide, just this once. But, just as the cockatiel breeder could not miss a feeding of the baby bird even when she was tired, neither can parents skip their duties. All this hands-on parenting is a lot of work, but with our Father’s blessing, the end result will be well worth the effort.
We also are hand raised. Our Father created us and as long as we willingly remain His children, He plays an active part in our development. We have the glorious privilege of being a part of our Father’s plan, and He works in our lives to make us fit for His kingdom. We pray that we will be worth His effort.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One