Note: This is more or less a continuation of my Little Blue Feather blog. While I didn’t mention what I was actually dealing with, prayer-wise, in Little Blue Feather, I’ll explain it in greater detail here. Not so much about the discovery of the Blue Jay feather, but the pains in my heart that led me to that moment, the things I asked and talked to God about, and what happened between Dad and I the next day.

It was nearly dark enough to see the stars by the time I left the peaceful little alcove I discovered the Blue Jay feather, but I felt no fear or urge to move faster. Considering how skittish I’ve always been, it was unusual for me to feel so comfortable out in the Valley alone in the dark. But, I didn’t exactly feel alone. God’s presence still walked by my side, as though He was escorting me back to the safety of my Xterra parked a half-mile down the trail. 

Birds of all kinds noisily flicked across the skies above me, catching moths and other nighttime bugs before settling into their nests within the rocks and trees for the night. Crickets and frogs serenaded in the grasses and down by the fast-flowing creek that split the valley plains in two. I could hear people laughing and sharing stories in the distance, not too far from where I was. In fact, I was walking by people’s backyards. I really wasn’t in a remote part of the valley, though wildlife and untouched nature were still all around me. 

For a brief moment, I caught a glimpse of a curious coyote trotting across the trail ahead of me and then bounding up and over a bluff. Then, within a nearby grove of Gamble Oaks, I heard a Great Horned Owl call. I paused to get a better look, but I couldn’t see the bird in the darkness. Though, I could almost feel it staring into my soul from within the Gamble Oaks. Finally, just as I crested a small knoll and was within twenty or so yards from the Xterra, a muley doe and her two fawns gracefully leapt through the foliage single-file, heading towards a sheltered draw to bed down for the night. 

Inside my Xterra, I turned the ignition key and thanked the Lord for such a beautiful nightly hike, and an even more beautiful conversation. But, God wasn’t about to let me just drive home. George Jones’ version of “Have a Little Talk with Jesus” began to play through my radio, striking chills of awe all throughout my body. Of course, I put that shit on repeat and tapped my free foot to the music while driving the long way home. I didn’t want that night to end, but it had to, as I had to wake up at the ass crack of dawn to go off-roading with my dad.