I headed to the front porch one morning this week to enjoy my coffee, listen to the martins up and about already making their familiar and comforting noise, and to just take it all in with the lake in view. It was so beautiful and peaceful. I knew soon the activity would begin and not cease again until bedtime at 11 or 12 since Spring Break gets us in late-night movie mode right from the jump. I rocked back and forth in my chair and thanked God for the stillness and beauty. Right about the time that I took a deep breath and thanked the Lord for the peace in my life and peace in my "land" at home, a chicken startled me and ran right past my feet across the porch. We only have four chickens at the moment who have managed to survive out here in the country, so it was all the more funny to me that just one single one was on a mission all by itself. He/she/whatever it was didn't even pause to look at me and see if I had any bread to throw its way, it just scampered by...what is the verb here I should use for a chicken movement? Ah, I am not sure! I laughed out loud because is was like the Lord was showing me that right about the time I settle in and think life will be calm and quiet, that I better be ready. Because even for those of us who believe in Him and try to live our lives in a way to please Him, life will have ups and downs and keep us on our toes. I really should say life will keep us on our knees no matter what! However, that does not worry me! I thought of the verse in John 16:33 that says "In this world you will have trouble, but take heart! I have overcome the world."
I also found myself laughing this week at another kind of bird that lives here on our premises. We also have a few guineas that call this place home. They run around here from dusk to dawn throwing a FIT and fussing at each other. Lord forgive me for this and forgive me if I offend any members of my sex, FEMALES, but our guineas remind me of a group of women on the loose! I watched them one day last summer all "laying out" in the front yard. It was like they were sunning their feathers. After 10 or 15 minutes of total peace, quiet, and stillness, one of them stood up, started squawking, and got the rest of them all up immediately in a total fuss! They do that all day. The times of walking peacefully are always interrupted by one of them deciding to be louder than the others and seemingly pestering one of the crowd until the one provoked fights back. It is a funny sight to see and even funnier to listen to. Now, how this relates to women...I better say right away that I am not perfect at all, because WE women sure can get excited over the littlest thing and then start yapping and get a whole crowd in a fussy over a variety or topics and ideas. Enough said! There are so many verses about unity. Do a search in your Bible and discover how and why we should not get in a fuss so often! (AND....Oh, I threw at least two fits last night...not at other women, but at my family. I was such a guinea!)
My final thought has grown from an observation from my time with our dog, Belle. She is a blond lab who thinks she is our fifth child around here. Belle loves to play fetch! Love is not a strong enough word! She lives and breathes to play fetch! She sleeps at times with one of her blue balls in her mouth. Belle is so persistent. She never gives up! She will jump up on the trampoline if we are all up there and let the ball fall out her mouth hoping someone will throw the ball for her and then she leaps off. Today I was swinging with Blaise and every time that I was up in the air and Belle could, she would place her ball right in the path of my swing and then I would panic and have to put the brakes on so I did not hit her as I came back down in the air. I have spent some time in my flowerbeds or should we say "weed beds" and Belle even carefully places her ball in my trash bucket full of weeds. Like I said, she does not give up! She puts the P in persistent. I realized one day last week that I needed a few lessons from Belle! I do not need to give up with what I know the Word says and with what the Lord has promised me for those around me. Hebrews 12:1 is one of my favs. It says "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked our for us!" Don't give up today, hang in there, and do not walk, but RUN to Jesus!
