Dear Parish Members and Friends,
The squirrels have been busy again!
The ash tree on the vacant lot below our home was the site of a game of tussle recently. Two squirrels were having some kind of event only a squirrel could understand. They were chasing each other around the base of the large tree, then up and down the trunk for many feet. Then in retreat, one took off up a high branch which increasingly grew thinner and thinner until it bent down with the weight of the creature. The other squirrel just watched standing back. At the last moment the first squirrel jumped several feet from one tiny branch to another equally weak branch from a near-by tree. The new branch held the weight. Without stopping the squirrel tore down the other tree to whatever else he/she had in mind.
Talk about confidence … 30 feet up in the air—jumping from one pencil thin branch to another … and, then going full speed ahead. Of course, there is more than a “can do” spirit here, for besides confidence, the squirrel is amazingly designed to accomplish such feats with balance and coordination.
Christians also see the creative power of God at work here. If God can so bless a squirrel with the wherewithal to do such amazing acrobatic acts, how much more has he blessed the human species with so many amazing and wonderful talents and abilities? While no single human is talented in everything—each one has a number to offer, even excel at.
The psalmist notes in Psalm 139: 14, “I will praise thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” Such is the case for all of us in our own way.
We can learn from the squirrel because, instead of bemoaning what he/she did not have, he trusted in the abilities he had and bravely jumped, doing that which squirrels can do. We can have confidence as well, for even in difficult and uncertain times, God has graced us with so much, individually and collectively. Yes, there are some things we can not have; some things we cannot do. But we have the grace of God, thus we can jump with confidence.
Our churches continue to serve and act on many levels, through the talents, strengths and insights of our members. This newsletter documents the next several months of activity.
In Christ,,
The Reverend David L. Hess