Sovereignty, Freewill, or Both?

Walking down to the shed earlier today to clean some things up, I noticed there was an intermittent fluttering sound coming from somewhere. David, who was working on his Toyota, informed me that there was something caught inside the hollow basketball pole - probably a bird. Immediately I grasped the poor creatures plight, and, like any good humane citizen, set about the task of rescue.

The pole was perhaps three inches in diameter, and stiffened internally with intermediate cross-bars. It was comprised of three coupled sections, one in the ground, the other two each about five feet long.

First, thinking like a tradesman, I employed a hammer to attempt tapping the sections apart, but a combination of their weight and long exposure to gravity made them reluctant to yield. A different, less direct approach would be necessary.

How to reach eight feet down a three-inch pole and retrieve a desperate winged body? Abruptly, I hit on it. Grabbing a convenient 9mm rope, I gingerly lowered it into the pole, standing atop a six foot ladder. I could both hear and feel it when it reached the bird; I started bringing it up, but could tell there was no weight on it. I lowered the rope again. "C'mon, little guy... grab on..." I waited a moment, and begin to haul it up slowly - slowly, up, up, just a little more! I could feel a distinct load - not much, mind you - but something.

The rope neared the top. In a blink, the little thing was free! I've never been so happy for a bird in all my life: it was tiny and dull gray, but it was beautiful. Exhilarated, I put the rope away and went back to cleaning shop, rejoicing over what it means to be alive.

I'll let you draw the parallel.