We have been experiencing 'critter' encounters this past week. Animal life on our farm generally doesn't involve much danger to us. We don't have any large animals that can be dangerous. And the small animals that might come around, generally come out after dark and are usually not known to us--unless we get a smelly smell wafting into our house from a skunk. That is never welcome. We see evidence that lets us know that there are possums and raccoons visiting regularly and some get treats of cat food occasionally. Though they are not generally welcomed. One day this past week, I stepped outdoors early one morning as I let our cats outside for their early morning needs and exercise--or whatever it is that they are so anxious to do! And I heard a sound that I have not heard all winter! The songbirds were singing! It was a beautiful sound to hear! Apparently some have decided that spring is here to stay. God has promised that the seasons come in progression. "seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease." God has His timing set in place and we can depend on Him to keep His Word! For that I am so glad. I don't have to worry—He's got this! The birds come back when the time is right and winter is past. He/Jesus will come back when the time is right, and I don't have to be concerned. My part is to be ready! The sandhill cranes are back! They didn't worry about whether it was time or if they should wait and see. For them, the time is right for them to come back here, now! If they should wait to see, then they might miss out on the right time to nest. The local eagles have been busy making their nests ready for eggs and right on time the eggs began to arrive. They didn't have to look at a calendar to know the time was right. I don't have to worry about when Jesus will come back. He will come when He is ready! And I want to be ready when He is ready!
We have two kitties that spend time with us in our home. While they both are thankful to have a home that is comfortable and warm and safe. One of them truly appreciates the feeling of being safe with no worries about danger. She spends a whole lot of time laying on my exercise mattress. The mattress has a broken spring that makes a small dip/hollow. And she thinks the hollow area makes her a nice nest to sleep in. That is where she starts but eventually, she squirms and wiggles around until often she can be seen completely upside down, including her head. She lays there, with all four feet in the air. It is very obvious that she does not think that there is any danger to her from anything! I am pretty sure that she relaxes in ways that outdoor cats could never allow themselves to do. Her positions in our home would make her completely vulnerable to attack if she were to be outdoors. She feels safe with us--until we have visiting families with kids and with their dogs. Then we don't ever see her when they are around. She completely trusts us but not them. Just as we can completely trust God for His care for our safety. I should try to remember the trust I have in God when we have a forecast of high wind and tornadoes. I tend to become concerned. The God who stilled the storm on the Sea of Galilee can keep us during our storms, too. And give us Peace and Safety.
One Saturday/Sabbath—Miss Kitty was home alone all day. Life can get boring when you are all alone. But she found a way to get unbored! As I came into the kitchen and turned on the light, I noticed something on the floor. I had to get closer to see what was lying there that hadn't been there when we left early that morning. In my closer look, I discovered a tail and 2 tiny feet! It was the last half of a mouse! We have been troubled with mice this winter. We are a little bit frustrated since we have done several things to our house that should make it much harder for mice to find their way into our home. We prefer that they stay out and find a proper mouse home—not ours! After several years of no mice, we are not so happy having to catch at least 10 of them with peanut butter as a temptation this year. We are glad to be able to eliminate them from our house. We are not glad that they have to die. If only they had stayed out of our home, they could still be living. The temptation to come in was strong and they yielded to the temptation. And then they can get seen and caught by a cat or a mouse trap! How often I yield to temptation and then get caught or remember that my yielding was seen by God. Then I wish I hadn't yielded. I get in Satan's traps. The traps he sets are just as deadly as the traps we set for the mice. Just as the mice end up caught, if we get in one of his traps, we will end up caught and need to be rescued. Sadly, there is no rescue for the mice when they get trapped. I am so glad that God offers us a plan of rescue from the traps we get ourselves into.
The same night we came home to half a mouse, our other kitty, Marco, had been outside all day! Nearly 15 hours! He is a kitty that wants to come in a couple times a day and get something to eat. So, when I got out of my local taxi service to my house, he met me with “kitty shouting.” Shouting with a very loud demanding voice letting me know how late we were getting home and frantically telling me how cold it was that evening and how extremely hungry he was! Unlike Miss Kitty!! She was not hungry at all! Her mouse snack was serving her quite well. Do you ever get so frantic as Marco was? Do you yell at God about your troubles? There are things that we can't do anything about. And we get frantic! We want to yell. We need to remember that all will be taken care of according to God's will for us. We did come home, we did let him in to get warm, we did feed him, we did let him have a safe place to relax and sleep. We took care of his needs!! Our needs will be taken care of also.
Last Thursday morning, I let our kitties outside! It was the same morning that I heard the spring birds so joyfully singing. And then I heard something different. At first, I heard what I thought was a Canadian goose. But it seemed to be in our yard. And Geese are never this close to where we live. They stay down at the pond. So, I stepped outside the door to hear better. I then decided that it was no goose! I decided that it was something else that deceived me at first. I decided that what I was hearing was really a chicken. Perhaps a chicken in great distress! But since I am limited in walking, I decided to not investigate. Like I said, we don't have large animals that cause trouble. But ignoring trouble does not prevent trouble! When sin enters my life, ignoring it does not make it go away. I need to ask for help in removing the trouble! I can be sure that God will provide the help I need! The chicken in distress needed to be rescued but no rescue came to her. Later, my husband brought in 4 red chicken feathers and then we knew what had happened. Some possum or skunk or raccoon had breakfast. Then we began to realize what had transpired the previous evening. The night before, two chickens, one red and one black, did not make it home to their coup on time. The coup has a small door that closes automatically well after dark when all chickens should already be in bed—roosting for the night! Little Red Hen waited until too late to get to safety. Instead, she delayed and put off getting home to safety on time. I could not help comparing what happened in chicken-land to what happened in Noah's time and to what will happen in the time before Jesus comes again. Some will put off getting ready for the doors to close on heaven. They will put off making changes in themselves to be ready to enter the gates of our heavenly home. Eventually it will be too late to get in! Those who are too late to get ready will end up like Little Red Hen. The door will be closed, and no one will then be able to enter and the eventual end will be the END! If you want that for you, well, ok for you. But that is not the end I choose for me. I want that life in eternity with The Chicken Farmer. I do not want to be the Little Red Hen who is too late to go home with The Chicken Farmer who is patiently waiting for all His little chicks to come home to him on time. I do not want to be one of those people struggling to stay on the rocks outside the ark that was floating away from them with Noah and his family safe inside. All because they waited until too late and the door shut, leaving them on the outside with no place of safety.
From time to time our farm gets lost cats, and often lost dogs that come to visit us. Once we had a lost sheep that came to visit. Many years ago, we had several lost cows come to visit the farm in the middle of the night. And they woke up my Auntie Bernice outside her bedroom window. And then there are the chickens that were lost from their coup this week. It reminds me of the lost stories in the Bible. One being the story of the lost boys. Sometimes in traveling we get lost. We need to consult a map or GPS or someone with knowledge of how to get to where we are going. We are on a Journey! All of us are on this same Journey. Some decide to not go further and do not complete the Journey. Some get lost! And they need to be redirected. Some stay out too late on the Journey. I pray that everyone who truly wants to arrive at the destination of Heaven will not get lost, will not stay out until it is too late to get in. God will close the gate eventually. Make sure that you are inside the gate and not left outside!