Lessons- From Squirrels?

This squirrel was jumping and climbing........

 They move so fast......gathering nuts in the late summer and fall......flitting here and there other times of the year, whether building a nest or looking for food or just to entertain themselves.

They like to chew on the patio furniture and they leave many tooth marks from their chewing....

We gather and put out hedge apples around our foundation in the fall- it helps to repel spiders and it really seems to work.......BUT the squirrels LOVE them and shred them all over the yard, making a big mess.



The Jump............................

It was amazing to see him in mid-air - not hanging on to anything. What a feat!

Afterwards, he perched on this cut off branch for a while and just watched.

I do enjoy the squirrels and their antics......they are amazing climbers and acrobats..............but they also like to steal my tomatoes. chew on our plastic benches and chew on Christmas lights that we put on the deck; therefore, we have great problems. So, all summer we chase them out of the yard as well as other times of the year when they are being destructive........but they seem to like to come back...........and I take pictures.......

 See this tomato thief? They take many of the tomatoes - green and red......sometimes right on the day they are ripe enough for me to pick and feed to my family. One day, I checked the big tomato in the late morning and it looked SO good, but the sun was out, so I decided to leave it for about 3 more hours to ripen a bit more in the wonderful heat of the sun.....and 3 hours later, the squirrel had beat me to it!

 
They are just doing what squirrels are meant to do.....and they take no care for how their actions affect those around them.....so, we learn to live with their quirks and deal with them - like trying to keep them from taking my tomatoes! I know of other people who struggle with them getting into an attic and doing great damage or chewing wires, causing house fires. So, although they look fun and cute......they need to be blocked out of certain areas to prevent damage. They need to be controlled.

I sometimes see people who remind me of the squirrels - so busy, happy, scampering about and having fun, but not caring about the damage they leave behind them with those who have to deal with the hurt from sarcastic comments, jobs left undone, careless behavior and more. They can be the life of the party and be admired, but how sad if they are uncaring and hurtful also.

I want to be careful to be busy and industrious in my days, but I do not want to be careless and self centered. I want to use words that help, heal, minister and lift up others, not those words that tear down and I do not want to focus so much on me that I cease to care about those around me. I want to be remembered for the ways that I am like Christ, for the ways I show His love and kindness.......not for ugly actions and attitudes. Lord, help us to remember to be cheerful and hardworking, but also to care about others even more than ourselves.

I hope you are having a great day..........


 
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