Lineolated Parakeets. You might not have heard of them before. That’s because these birds aren’t common today. These birds, which are called Linnies for short, are a little larger than a Budgie, and they have little black lines running all around their bodies. They come in many colours, including blue, green, and cream.

I have a blue Linnie named Mexico. (This is because Linnies originally come from Mexico!). He also has a green mate named China, who belongs to my brother. They like to spend lots of time together, and when separated, one (usually Mexico,) starts to tweet for the other one to come back. If, after all the annoying racket they make, they do not refind each other, they eventually shut up and our ears are thankful. Well, it’s like us with God. Sometimes worldly things separate us from God. He always calls us back, (Rev 3:20: “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”) but sometimes we’re too busy to answer, and we drift farther and farther from him. Eventually we’re too far to hear him.

When the Linnies do see one other again, they always fly towards each other! I think we should act like them and go answer God even quicker than they do.

Another thing that we can learn from them is that, unlike their relatives, the Budgie, and other smaller birds in the parrot family, these birds act a lot like parrots. For example, they hold their food in their feet, instead of picking it up with their beaks, which is a good thing, because when birds use their beaks, the food usually drops, and it either gets eaten by the dog, or it gets abandoned. They also do many other parrot-like things, like being acrobats. Well, us humans are a lot like those birds. Sometimes we act like Budgies and Cockatiels in thinking that we’re too small to do things God asks us to do. But sometimes we act like the Linnies and do what God asks us to do immediately, in spite of our size. (Phil 4:13: I can do everything through him who gives me strength.)

We can learn a lot from these birds if we want to. There is a lot that they can do to give us wonderful lessons. We just have to watch and learn.

Donovan, aged 11