The legend is told of an Indian boy by the name of Waukewa who once found an eaglet with a broken wing. His first impulse was to send an arrow through its heart, but as the bird looked up at him with frightened eyes, he had compassion on it and spared his life. He put a splint on the bird's broken pinion and provided him with something to eat and drink.
When the boy's father saw the bird, he immediately insisted that the eaglet be killed, knowing that he might not long survive in a hostile environment without its mother. However, young Waukewa begged his father not to kill him, telling him that he would take care of him. His father yielded, permitting the bird to live, but only on the condition that when the eagle was well, his son was to turn it loose into the wild.
As promised, when the eagle's wing was fully healed, Waukewa took the captive bird far out into the forest and turned it loose. However, the eagle had become so attached to the boy, that he did not want to leave him. The boy then hid in the forest, and the eagle flew away to an unknown destination.
A year later, Waukewa was with a party of fellow Indians who were fishing in a river connected to a great waterfall. While concentrating on his fishing, his canoe slowly drifted into the rapids. Immediately he seized a paddle and began to pull with all his strength. Unfortunately, the paddle snapped into and Waukewa was swept toward the falls. As any Indian was taught to do, he calmly prepared himself to meet certain death.
Suddenly, he heard a piercing scream. Glancing up, he saw a great eagle flying toward him. As it hovered over his head, Waukewa grabbed its legs. As the canoe went over the falls, the eagle floated with him down through the air and landed him gently upon a sandbar. Looking at the eagle, he recognized him as the bird he had befriended so many years ago by a scar on its wing.
On that day, Waukewa received a great blessing, because the eagle had remembered the simple deed of kindness shown to him by Waukewa in allowing him to live.
Dear reader, like the eagle in the above story, let us forget the slings and insults which have hurt us in the past, and remember the many blessings that we have received through the kind deeds of others. If we will do this, we will be so busy counting our blessings, that we won't have time to nurse our wounds and feel sorry for ourselves. Like the apostle Paul, we will consider our friends and say: "I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy" (Philippians 1:3-4).
—Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets
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