Lonesome as a Dove
It was a quiet morning. The grandkids had left from their visit. The silence, that was usually normal, seemed all too quiet. I looked out over the lake. It is the middle of winter and the trees were bare. As I sat there I notice the birds waiting for their turn at the bird feeder.
As a general rule, the birds really do have their pecking order. It usually follows the pattern that the bigger birds get first choice of what and when they want to eat. Some of the quick, smaller birds try to sneak to the other side of the feeder, but if a bigger bird notices them they will usually do their very best to move their clumsy bodies around to the other side to chase them away. Sometimes it works and other times they just give up.
Some of the birds are quite choosy and they will spit out the seed they don’t like. It falls on the steps. Other birds and squirrels pick through these toppings. One of those birds who seems to pick through these leftovers is the dove.
Caroline Lavinia Scott was born in Oxford, Ohio. Her dad, Dr. John Scott, was a Presbyterian minister and a professor of science at Miami University. Her mom was Mary Potts Neal and Caroline was their second daughter.
Caroline’s parents loved education. There were always books, art and music around the house. With her dad being a minister, religion was also really important. Her parents always made sure all of their kids were well educated.
Dr. Scott had been working at Miami University for nearly twenty years when he and several other professors had a dispute over slavery with the university president, George Jenkins. Dr. Scott and the other professors opposed slavery while Jenkins supported it. These professors, including Dr. Scott, would be fired.
Dr. Scott would move his family to Cincinnati where he would become a professor at Farmer’s College. He would not know it at the time, but one of his freshman students would become his future son-in-law. This student would study under Dr. Scott for nearly two years. This young gentleman would eventually marry his daughter, Caroline.
It had been a long journey for this Biblical character. It seemed like his life was night after night of wandering. He loved people, but he must have been getting a little weary. He probably longed for a place to call home, but he knew he had a job to do and he was going to do it.
Most of the people loved him, too. They were looking for a hero and he seemed to fit the bill perfectly. The people’s love for him upset others, though. These other people wanted everyone to look up to them the way they looked at him.
Then, like so many times before, they would spread false rumors and question his every more. He would then move on to the next town. Over and over again this story played out. Our traveler would move from town to town.
The dove is in the same family as the pigeon, although it is usually smaller than the pigeon. They are also known by another name which we sing about a Christmas time: Turtle Doves. Doesn’t that just make you want to sing “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” “Two Turtle Doves, and a Partridge in a Pear Tree.”
Usually if you see a dove there is another dove very close by. Doves, unless they’re nesting, usually have their mate close by. Doves stick by their mate as long as they both shall live. If one dies they will usually find another mate though.
As I lifted my eyes up off the bird feeder they became focused on the bare tree branches. On one branch I noticed four doves all lined up. They all seemed to be looking in the same direction. I tilted my head to see what they were looking at. There on another branch was a single dove. That single dove seemed to be looking back at the four birds.
I just sat there a while and watched the doves. They really didn’t seem to do a whole lot, but I kept wondering what that single little bird was thinking. Was he sad because he was alone even though there was a crowd?
Dr. Scott and his family returned to Oxford, Ohio, Caroline’s birthplace. He became the first president of Oxford Female Institute. Caroline’s mother, Mary, became the school matron and would head the Home Economics department.
Caroline would enroll at Oxford Female Institute and she would study English literature, theater, art, and painting. Caroline would join the faculty at Oxford in her senior year as an Assistant in Piano Music.
Caroline loved to dance. She would go dancing with the young man who was in her father’s class when he was at Miami. Her strict Presbyterian father frowned on dancing, so he was none too happy about his daughter participating in this activity.
It was during the young man’s senior year Caroline and he would become engaged. They decided to wait to get married until after he studied law and she finished school.
Caroline would accept a job in Kentucky to teach music. She would catch pneumonia and have to return home to Ohio, though.
On October 20, 1853 Caroline and the young student would finally marry. Her father, the Presbyterian minister, officiated the ceremony. The newlyweds would honeymoon in North Bend, Ohio.
There came a day when our traveler’s popularity hit its peak. The people came from miles around to witness his arrival. The crowd shouted, they sang, they cheered, and a few even had tears in their eyes.
As the traveler walked toward town you could tell all his friends and those close to him had a little extra pep in their steps. Their heads were high and their smiles were broad. Everyone was so happy. Everyone, that is, except him.
But how could he not be happy? Wasn’t this all about him? Maybe he was the little dove who was all by himself in the crowd.
Just like so many time before, the crowd turned on the traveler. It would be the last time. His last memory would be looking out on the world in loneliness.
Caroline and Benjamin Harrison would be married a few days over thirty-nine years. Like many marriages, they had their ups and downs, but a marriage doesn’t last that long without the element of love overcoming the obstacles.
Caroline would become a huge asset for Benjamin, especially during his political life. While she was First Lady she would secure $35,000 from Congress for renovations to the White House. Some of the items she oversaw were a new plumbing system with more bathrooms, new floors, painting, and wallpapering. Electricity was installed but the Harrisons were too scared of the switches and building engineers were called in the morning to turn them off after they were left on all night.
Caroline also started a new tradition. That tradition continues to this day. She had the first Christmas tree in the White House. As a talented artist she also held china-painting classes in the White House. She also served as the first President General of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She helped raise funds for John Hopkins University Medical School on the condition that they admit women.
Tragedy would strike the Harrisons on October 25, 1892 when Caroline would die in the White House. Preliminary services were held in the East Room of the White House, but her body was returned to Indianapolis for the final funeral at her church.
I’m sure that President Harrison was devastated. Such a popular First Lady was now gone, but for him it was more than that. It was his companion, his helper, and his mate. As the crowds gathered around him I’m sure he felt all alone. No one could take his pain away from him. No one could understand. No matter how large the crowd in the room, his loneliness would never leave him.
Sometimes I feel the way I think that little dove and President Harrison felt. Most people don’t know when I’m upset, hurt or even lonely. I just hang onto that branch and blend into the crowd. I think being alone in a crowd is about the worst type of loneliness.
Our traveler, Jesus, looked out on the world from high atop a cross He was nailed on. There was no crowd cheering Him on. At the bottom of the cross there were only His Mom and a few friends. They weren’t cheering him on, they were crying because they knew his life was at an end. Then just as He was about to die, God abandoned Him, too.
All those in the crowd watched to see what was going to happen. They weren’t looking at him with the hope they had as he entered the town just a few days before. They forgot all He had done for them. He was as lonesome as the little dove.
When you’re alone in a crowd it is hard to display emotions. You basically have to act like nothing is bothering you. Deep down you hope someone will pick up the little hints and maybe dote on you a little. Then, at least you would know there was someone who wanted to see you happy again. Then your life would show signs of purpose again.
One of the greatest truths about Jesus is that He understands us because He has experienced it himself. Jesus knows loneliness. He knows its pain and its cure. He’s there to share it with us. He wants to be that answer to loneliness in our troubled times.
Prayer: Dear Mighty Father, Walking into a crowd with loneliness on your back is a very heavy load. It’s a load that gets heavier and heavier the more we convince ourselves that no one really cares. Please lift us up in those times. Please let us feel Your presence and help us know that there are those who really care. Please place people in our path that can convince us that we don’t need to carry the load alone. Amen.
