Those Nasty Blackbirds
by V. Oranell Cupp

    Approximately twelve and a half years ago, my husband and I purchased a home in Gas City, Indiana. We moved in (along with our four daughters) and, to our amazement, found we'd inherited thousands upon thousands of blackbirds. This certainly was a new experience for us. Never, in my entire life, have I seen such a mess as the blackbirds left! Months went by, then came warm weather and they were as bad as ever.

    One day, my brother parked his car in front of my house, for twenty minutes, and thought he'd never get it clean! Cleaning my sidewalk would take every bit of two hours and, the following morning, you couldn't even see our sidewalk or front yard. The stink was out of this world!

    Being raised on a farm in Kentucky, I'd raised chickens in 4-H Club. But, nothing compared to this! The rain seemed to bring out the entire aroma. Besides, my eighteen month old daughter wanted to play in it. Ugh! As energetic as she was, I had to keep her locked in the house.

    As time passed, my nerves became very raw from this type of existence. Being desperate, I asked the Lord if He'd help me find a way to rid myself of these birds ... especially since I was using my home for Him. (You see, my husband and I had moved to Gas City for the purpose of starting mission work. In fact, we were already having services in our home.) So, believing the Lord would help me find the answer, I began my search.

    Asking neighbors if they could tell me how to get rid of the birds, every answer they gave was either illegal or impossible. So, I called the Health Department, thinking 'if they saw the mess - they'd have to do something.' However, they never showed up. Then, a long time neighbor told me I might as well give up. Those birds had been there eighteen years and no one had been able to get rid of them. Having eight or nine trees didn't help either.

    Beginning to read the book, GO HOME AND TELL (by Bertha Smith, a Southern Baptist missionary to China), I was amazed as she'd tell of numerous accounts where the Lord had rid her of pests that were unbearable. She'd give scripture references of the Lord's promises, then claim them as her own, as she went to her knees asking the Lord for deliverance. I must admit, I didn't know what to think. Searching the Bible, as Bertha had given references ... sure enough, the promises were there. Oh, it touched my heart! I didn't know the Lord did things like that. Could I really just ask Him to take them?

    Appealing to Him, I said, "Well, Lord, if you can do these things for Bertha Smith, you can surely deliver me of these birds. Lord, I've done all I know to do except cut the tress down and my husband won't let me do that. (He thinks it would greatly depreciate our property.) Lord, you gave me this house and I'm using it for you. You know this isn't a fit place for worship, in this condition. So, Lord, just take them."

    Praying for three nights, while getting angry at the birds ... I commanded them to leave, in the 'name of Jesus'. My neighbor, then having come for a visit, noticed such quietness that she just knew something bad was wrong. Going outside to see what it might be, we discovered the birds were gone!

    Quiet for the next three days, on the fourth evening the birds came back. I went to tell my neighbor to move her car, so she wouldn't have to wash it. But, she insisted, "You prayed." I responded, "I know. No one but the Lord could have taken them, even for three days." Refusing to move her car, in about fifteen minutes, the all birds flew away at once. It was a sight!

    After this, I'd sit on a neighbor's porch, in the evenings, and observe the birds as they'd flock to the trees, then flee. It was as though the trees were wired with electricity. Before, neighbors always avoided walking down my sidewalk. If they had no other option, they'd run past my house, and yet would, in spite of everything, get sprinkled from the birds. But now, they'd stop and ask, "By the way, what happened to those blackbirds?" I'd chuckle, then share my testimony of what the Lord had done. They would leave amazed.

    Living there for ten years, I never had that problem again.

© by V. Oranell Cupp