Count Your Blessings #31 – Wildlife in the Garden

We are very blessed living, as we do, in a house that is close to woods. This means that we get all sorts of wildlife in the garden.

Today is a particularly active day because Emily filled up the feeders and the bird (squirrel) table yesterday evening.

Although I’d prefer to see British Red Squirrels rather than American Grey ones it’s still a blessing to see them bouncing around, scurrying for food. It’s not such a blessing to have to clear up some of the mess from where they have buried things, but that is a small price to pay.

I love to see how different animals interact with each other. The Jay comes and follows the squirrels around, because he knows that they will soon be burying what they have just collected and that he can steel it from the hole. There is definitely a pecking order between the Jay and the Magpie too. The Jay seems to be king. Talking of the Jay, the way that they bounce around the garden is so comical that it brings a smile to my face every time we see them.

The little birds are very active today to, we don’t seem to have a shortage of Sparrows around here, there are loads of them. The Cole Tits dart in and out spending as little time as possible on the feeder. The Green Finch spends longer, stripping the husk off the sunflower seeds before eating them. The songs are wonderful, filling the air.

I am a bit of a worrier and seeing all of this life in the garden brings me back time and time again to the words of Jesus:

“If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.

“Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion–do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen colour and design quite like it? The ten best–dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.

 “If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers–most of which are never even seen–don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.

“Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.

Matthew 6 The Message