Mother Squirrel’s lesson

The Lord woke me at 5 a.m. with a cooler breeze coming through the window than when I went to sleep last night. The birds were singing up a storm outside too. It was as if God was saying, “Lisa, come out to the deck and spend some time with me.” Who am I to argue? (Settle down Mom and Dad. I can hear you laughing and raising your hand to remind me of a moment or two, or three. Ha-ha)

I started a pot of coffee, delivered my Bible, journal, and “deck basket” to the patio table and prepared for some quiet time. As the coffee brewed, I sat to breathe in this beautiful morning. I open my journal and start writing. Praises, thanks, and prayers pour from my heart to pen. The blessings overflow. My smile increases with each one. God is so good to us.

I read Psalm 71:17 just before a commotion in the large tree near our house caught my attention. One section of leaves was moving out of control.  It sounded as if animals were scrapping up in the tree yet by sound I could not determine what animals they might be. I was thankful they were very high in the air and far enough away that if it was some rabid animal I had time to get in the house. The branches settled, the noise stopped, and I started to finish the verse from Psalm 71.

“Since my youth, O God,
you have taught me,
And to this day
I declare your marvelous deeds.”

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No sooner did I finish reading the word “deeds” when I caught a mother leading her two babies from one tree to the next. I laughed aloud at my silliness and then at the irony of the verse I just read. This mama modeled how to balance on a branch to the near tip before jumping to the next tree. Just like two of your children can be very different, so were these silver critters.

The first baby followed mama with each walk, jump, glide, and smooth landing BUT the second one, not so much. The second was a little smaller than his sibling, with double the fear. He was skeptical to trust the branch as it dropped with his weight. Each time he would near where, the end, at the near height to make the jump, he turned around and ran back up the branch. In addition, each time, the mama squirrel scolded him from the other tree.

His sibling had his front paws in his ears, sticking out his tongue, and saying, “Ha-ha, you can’t do it.” One time though, mama came up from behind and knocked him off his branch to the one below him. Oh my goodness, coffee came flying as I jolted a laugh. Eventually the fearful baby squirrel made each jump, glide, landing, and transition from tree to tree. He was still falling to the next branch more often than his sibling was, but he never gave up AND his mama never went too far ahead.

“Since my youth, O God,
you have taught me,
And to this day I declare
your marvelous deeds.”

An unexpected lesson taught and received this morning. We are like those squirrels. Our parents can only nurture us for so long before we need to learn how to walk, jump, glide, and transition on our own.

I am blessed with parents who have modeled positive and purposeful lessons then stepping back to watch me try myself. Sometimes I fall and hit the branch beneath me and they were on the other side saying, “Don’t give up kid, you can do it.” Other times I succeed and they are the first ones to acknowledge my success and celebrate with me. Once the celebration is over, they encourage me to continue moving forward, there are so many things in life to experience when we have the courage to jump.

What is God calling you to jump into today?

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