How long does it take God to answer a prayer? Sometimes not very long.
Around three and a half years ago my dad Grady Pierson brought home two doves for my sons, one ring neck (Neptune), gray in color the other one snow white (Snowy). He had got them from a lady that raised doves. My boys (Jonathan 16 years old, Justin 15 years old and Jeffrey 9 years old) had hoped so much when the doves laid eggs, that they would hatch, but to their disappointment the eggs didn’t hatch, there were four eggs. Come to find out the doves were both female, so when time came around the boys took the doves out of their cage and placed them outside to go free. The snow white dove left, but the ring neck dove choose to stay. The boys brought her into the house to keep her as a pet, she was so tame and sweet, she coos to us every morning and evening.
Jeffrey my youngest son at that time was around 5 ½ years old, plays a lot with her in his room letting her out to fly around sometimes. It got to where our cat even laid on top of her cage to sleep. The dove's name is Neptune, she wasn’t afraid of our cat Cooter at all. Cooter is jet black in color, a very pretty cat. We also had a cat named Frisky and two dogs name Lady and Mickey. One day we noticed Neptune had pulled all the feathers off her neck. She had laid two more eggs, which we knew wouldn’t hatch, because of not being fertilized by a male dove. I called around to the pet shops and the zoo for another dove, but in vain there wasn’t one, so we pitched the eggs into the trash, they were getting old and wouldn’t hatch. Jeffrey grieved so much for the bird and her unhatched eggs. Jeffrey was saved in church one day. He had such a tender heart it wasn’t hard to win him to Christ, he became refreshed, reborn in Christ. Time passed and Jeff prayed often for the bird to have a mate and for her eggs to hatch, one night he was so grieved over the two eggs that he prayed so hard, he felt himself lifted up from the bed in spirit. When he told me of his prayer for the dove and her eggs to hatch, it was hard for me to know what to say, but I did tell him, God heard his prayer that is why he felt the way he did.
My Mother (Jeffrey’s grandmother) is a spirit filled Christian as I am, we believe in the Trinity, the father, son and holy ghost in one, but yet in three, which is the trinity. I was raised In the First Assembly of God Church and was saved and filled with the holy ghost at age eighteen. My sons are all saved and have much faith in healing and prayer. My mother Frances K. Pierson told Jeffrey that God had answered His prayer and would send a mate for Neptune. Jeffrey felt much better about his dove.
Time passed after that night of such a prayer. I was at a shopping center, called the French Quarter, here in Tyler and I passed a Pet shop (Petland), so I thought I’d go in and see what kind of birds, cats, and dogs and cages they had. I seen all kinds of animals wanting a home. I wished I could of taken them all, but as you know I couldn’t afford too. I was about to leave when to my surprise I spotted a ring neck dove, so beautiful just like Neptune, but younger and lighter. At that time I didn’t have enough money to buy the dove, which was fifteen dollars and ninety nine cents but one week later we all pitched in our money and went to Petland and bought the Dove. The store worker didn’t know if the dove was a male or female, but we were sure hoping that Jupiter was a male. When we put the two together Neptune’s loneliness left, she became so happy, she and Jupiter were so proud to be together. They stayed on the same perch most of the time. They coo to each other, neck and kiss and love one another and as I watched T.V. tonight they mated. Now we know Jupiter is a male and God answered a small eight year old boy’s prayer, Jeff is thrilled as can be and were all awaiting the egg soon to be hatched.
One evening Grandpa said He knew where a larger cage was for the doves, that the lady which had raised the dove Neptune had a cage she no longer used, so we went to see if we could buy the cage, but to our surprise she gave the cage to us. The boys painted it red and fixed it up so nice and wrote the doves name on it, they wrote Neptune & Jupiter’s Mansion, which it is to them, we fixed up a nest, which the doves finished and she set on her nest after they had mated. On August 30th, 1986 Neptune laid her first fertilized egg and they are so proud of the egg, they both take turns setting on it, they are so sweet as he takes her part of dry grass to build more on the nest, for the awaiting baby dove. How much more does God love us? He gave us a dove and in three and one half years gave her a mate, then a mansion to live in. Just think how much God can do for us out of His love, with a simple prayer of faith, God will work a miracle in our lives, we must ask Him and keep our faith. To our disappointment the first egg didn’t hatch, most likely, because we moved the nest to a larger cage and the egg fell beneath the straw and got cold, but when I waited long passed time for it to hatch I took the egg cracked it and there inside was a little embryo bird you could see it fully formed, but for some unknown reason didn’t hatch and died within the shell. After I took the egg away and Neptune seen I wasn’t going to put it back, she and Jupiter remated that same day, September 22nd, 1986. Our faith has been tried, but we know that we wont tamper with the nest again and this time the egg will hatch. On September 30th, Neptune laid her second fertilized egg, now we wait and pray that this one will hatch. The egg didn’t hatch, but they’ve mated again and we moved the cage into Jon’s room hoping the egg will stay warmer when it’s laid and maybe it will hatch. Or this is the wrong season for a baby bird, we may have to wait till spring.
On May 21st, 1987, we heard Jonathan come into the living room singing, “Happy Birthday to Saturn”. We just looked at Jonathan in puzzlement, wondering what on earth was He singing a song to a planet for, then Justin and Jeff realized what he was singing, we had a baby bird now named Saturn, hatched on May 20th, 1987. We all ran into Jonathan’s room to see the baby bird. The two doves were setting on the nest, both were feeding the baby bird Saturn from their beaks, they were so proud of their new baby. It was morning and the boys went off to school. Today was Thursday May 21st and I stayed home, because of allergies a reaction I had got from Monday while putting the trash cans up from the collectors, which had already gone by. I was stung over my feet, arms and hands and I also broke out on my face from the reaction. Today was payday; so I went to collect my check and go see the Doctor after that, I went to get my medicine for the rash I have and I went to the store and also bought a Birthday cake for the baby bird. Jeff was Already home, when I got there and he was so happy about the cake. He took the cake into Jon’s room, lit a candle and we sang “Happy Birthday to Saturn” and he blew out the candle and gave Neptune and Jupiter some white Birthday Cake and the Doves eat it gladly and Jeff was so happy. We all had some Birthday Cake and left the Doves to tend to Saturn, their baby bird. We always felt that God would let them have a baby bird, but it was all in God’s time. The anointing had to come first, before the first baby bird lived and is very healthy, because this was a prayer which a little boy prayed to God in such depth, that God heard his prayer and answered it all in good time and Jeffrey’s faith is great now, that the bird has hatched. Such faith is that of a child.
In order, pictures are: Jeff at 5 1/2 years with Neptune, Neptune and Snowy, Neptune and Jupiter's Mansion, Me with Jupiter and Saturn, Jeff at 9 years with Saturn, Jeff (a few years ago) with wife Kissy, son John Wayne, and daughters Leslie (right) and Katelyn (left).
Mary J Bowers, 2008