Squirrels, thieves and Nana's birdfeeder

My wife's mother, affectionately known around our house as Nana, is always trying to come up with a craft for our girls. She loves the outdoors so it usually is an outdoor craft. This time she had these hideous hollowed out gourds with two holes in them. They also had a wire attached. The craft was to paint the gourd, put a stick in the small hole for a perch, and then hang them in a tree for the birds. Sounds good, I guess, but nothing is ever that simple right? Well, in this case it all worked exactly as planned. After the girls painted them (quite beautifully I might add) I went to Lowes and got a hook and a dowel rod and finished the rest of the project. I filled the gourds with birdseed and then hung them in the trees. The girls were very proud and for a little while I guess I thought Nana hit a home run on this one. That feeling didn't last long. About as long as the feeling that you're actually loosing weight until you try on your tightest pants and its like trying to stretch a balloon over a watermelon. Anyway, for a couple of days all went well. One day at the lunch table I was looking out the window and I saw something in one of the bird houses. It didn't look like a bird unless this was some sort of freakish bird with a big furry tail. I've been around a while so I didn't think there was a species of bird like that. I watched for a moment. After a couple minutes of non-movement the culprit came out of the gourd. Sure enough. It was a squirrel. "Stinking squirrel", I said. "That's for the birds!", which is exactly what I was thinking of Nana's project right about now. "Get out of there you little thief!" Upon closer examination I realized that the squirrel had chewed out the small hole for the birds and made the hole big enough for me to climb in. I could almost see him on his back with his hands behind his head and his legs crossed picking his teeth with a toothpick. "Ha-ha chump!" is what he was saying to me. I wasn't overly angry. As a matter of fact, I found it a little amusing. This isn't the first time we've had a bird feeder in our back yard. I tried this last year and the deer kept coming and eating all of the bird seed. How did I know it was a deer. Those droppings weren't left by my family. So, I guess the bird house/bird feeder projects are over for us. I did get something out of this experience though. The squirrel reminded me of me before I came to know Christ. I was just looking for food. Something to sustain me until the next day. I just didn't realize that I was looking in the wrong places. I finally found the one who gives food that will never run out. Someone who not only feeds me physically but spiritually and emotionally as well. I don't have to run around like a squirrel searching for morsels to get by. I have all I'll ever need and more. Lets not be like the squirrel but find the true source of nutrition for our body and soul, Jesus Christ. Have a great day!

LW