The early spring morning hosted a hungry squirrel and singing birds.
I had headed downstairs to get some breakfast before I was supposed to start work in 15 minutes. I unlocked the front door for my dad's CNA set to arrive soon (my parents were both still sleeping), but then I felt a nudge from the Holy Spirit to go outside. I followed the prompting to the edge of the porch. Once there I could hear a sound like a woodpecker, except I have yet to see a woodpecker in Nebraska.
I looked up and discovered a squirrel feasting on the seeds of the maple tree. He (or she) pulled the helicopter shaped seedlings off the tree, ate the seeds, and then dropped the "helicopter" part to the ground about 15 feet below where he sat in the tree. He continued to feast the whole time I was outside.
A robin, a very common bird in this area but not so common where I have been living in Virginia, flew to a large branch in the tree about the same height above the ground as I was standing on the porch. The robin basically watched me from eye level while it held a few strands of something most likely intended for its nest. I regarded it, and it regarded me. And he stayed there the whole time I was outside.
As I watched and listened to the squirrel and robin, I could hear a myriad of other birds in the vicinity communicating with one another. It was not a quiet morning, but a peaceful one.
The air was chilly and fresh as I enjoyed the symphony of bird song and the cuteness of little wildlife.
Then a gray rabbit emerged from under the fence from the backyard and approached something green on the yard below me. The rabbit then proceeded to select several items to eat as part of its breakfast. Unlike the squirrel and robin, it hopped to various locations throughout the yard searching for food and paid me no mind.
Meanwhile my belly was still hungry as I stood out in the cold and enjoyed the simple pleasure of enjoying the morning wildlife. Watching the squirrel eat the maple seeds, it reminded me of a story I have heard about how God gives us seeds to plant, so don't eat your seeds. Yet, obviously, humans eat a lot of seeds; though, also obviously, if the seeds are planted and allowed to grow, their substance becomes bigger and therefore more filling as far as amount of food goes.
Yes, the squirrel was eating seeds. He was hungry. Right then. He needed sustenance now. And God provided seeds for that. However, there were way more seeds then the squirrel could eat. Despite what the squirrel ate, there were still plenty of seeds left to plant to make more maple trees - and seeds left for other squirrels to eat, or even that same squirrel to eat on another day. An abundance. The squirrel wasn't being greedy. He was enjoying the abundance God the Father had provided for him to survive.
I have a tendency to have a poverty mindset, probably coming from years of making do with an income below the federal poverty line for my family size. As such, I struggle with the concept of "abundance" referring to good things being accessible to me. Yet that is just what my God the Father has provided for me. My sins and especially my pride have led me to circumstances and environments that are not what the Father intended for me, and therefore "abundance" of good things was lacking in my life. That does not mean I will not experience abundance as I move toward the direction and environments Yahweh has designated for me. There I will find my abundance.
Squirrels belong in trees. That's where this squirrel was this particular morning: in a tree. I have learned that if I am experiencing a lack of abundance, then it's probably a sign I am not in the right spot.
I need to learn better how to squirrel my life away:
Be in the right place where Yahweh has designed me to be, &
Enjoy the abundance He has prepared for me
How are you doing with this?