The Holy Seagull

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After years of seeing this seagull sitting there, and years of saying I wished I had my camera with me, I finally had a chance to take this picture. (Now I wish I had a zoom lens.)

One day a few years ago, when we were coming into the church/school parking lot for morning drop-off, we happened to look up and notice that there was a seagull sitting on top of the cross on the church. Without fail, each day we would look again and each day there he would be, sitting.

For some reason, this just tickled us to no end. We began to ponder what he might be doing. One theory was that he was beginning his day with prayer and sat there as a reminder for us to do the same. Maybe he was saying a Hail Mary, or the Morning Offering. The kids would come up with a new idea each day as to why the seagull sat there. Of course, it was always something related to God, as we imagined that this seagull was so thankful of God's Providence that he deliberately chose this spot to rest each morning just so that people might notice him, see the Cross and think about God at the start of the day.

Thus began the story of the Holy Seagull. We like to think of this as our little secret, between the bird and us. We don't know if anyone else sees him, because if they do, nobody is saying. This pious seagull has become for us a daily witness of faithfulness, a reminder of the importance of prayer in our day and a fun way to discuss God and the blessings He gives us.