“His eye is on the sparrow.” (1) The words and music of
this song written by Civilla D. Martin and Charles H. Gabriel in 1905,
echoed through Rachel’s mind, as she headed to town for her first guitar
lesson. While waiting for the bus, she enjoyed the birds serenading one
another. “And I know he watches me.” (2)
Rachel felt a twinge of delight
watching one bird flitting in and out of tree branches. “You are
beautiful! God, how can you watch over every sparrow?” Suddenly, the bird flew
away. In fact, all of the birds disappeared and it became strangely silent.
“They heard my bus coming.”
Seconds later, she spotted a
narrow, funnel-shaped cloud, with dust and debris at its base,
heading towards her.
Rachel froze. “My God, that’s a
tornado!” The tornado moved erratically.
As it came closer, its dark funnel dropped to the ground like a hungry vacuum
relentlessly devouring everything in sight. Its distant roar increased in
intensity. “God, show me what to do!”
“Run!” her inner voice said.
“Get under the bridge.” There were no other options.
“Can I outrun this tornado?” Rachel
dropped everything and ran for her life. Sand and gravel pelted her, as
she slid down the steep embankment. She grabbed one of the huge beams and
hung on, as tree branches and other debris flew by. It seemed like
forever, but the loud roar ended almost as quickly as it began.
“His eye is on the sparrow,” went through Rachel’s mind, as
she spotted a bird perched on a beam.
“We are safe," she assured the sparrow. “My guitar?”
She headed home, not knowing
what to expect. Half a mile from home, she found her battered guitar case
beside the road. Inside, her guitar was unscathed. Fortunately, Rachel’s home
was still standing.
Rachel moved on in life to
become a gospel singer.
“And I know He watches me,” she
sang, at almost every concert.
2. Ibid.
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