The Squirrel

It would seem that we have another guest who has taken up temporary residence in our kitchen patio area.  On Saturday as I was walking by our sliding window, I thought I saw a shadow run across the deck.  Then as I stopped to check it out I saw a small but pretty grey squirrel happily munching on one of the tomatoes that was left on a vine of our potted plants from this summer!  Since then I have seen him every day.  I have the feeling that he is staying under the deck as he retreats there whenever the dog goes outside.

And speaking of the dog… Today as I let her out first thing to do her morning activities, she was quite distracted by the scent of the squirrel.  She was sniffing all around the large patio, checking out all the corners and was especially interested in the tiny opening that leads under the deck that the squirrel uses as his personal doorway!

Mandie’s morning duty normally only takes her a few minutes while she takes care of business, smells around the deck and garden area and then comes readily back to the door so she can be let in and eat her breakfast.  Today, the scent of our little grey guest seemed to cause her to forget about everything else.  She didn’t come to the door until she heard the jiggling of her dog food bag as I grabbed it to prepare her breakfast bowl.  (Kinda sounds like a Jack in the Box commercial doesn’t it… breakfast bowl???)

Her distraction got me to thinking about some of my additional thoughts on I Thessalonians 5:24 as I continued to study from it earlier today.  As I read the verse over the weekend and again today, the idea of God’s call or calling stood out to me.  The Literal Translation of the Holy Bible renders this verse as “Faithful is the One calling you, who also will perform it.”  When I looked at many of the other 40 plus translations that I have available to me in my personal library, I came to the conclusion that God’s call to us is an active, present tense, continual call.  It is not just a one-time statement from God concerning His purpose for each of us.

My first revelation was that God’s ministry call on my wife’s and my life is still active.  It is not over because of the current battle for her health that we are entangled with.  God’s assignment for us hasn’t changed because of the current circumstances.  I believe that He expects us to fight the good fight of faith, win this battle and then continue forth with His calling until it is completed.

I admit that I have had my moments where I wondered if this was all there is.  Is this the way it was to end?  But like Mandie this morning, I have come to realize that the roadblocks that we come against in our daily lives are simply distractions that attempt to knock us off our given course.  That’s not to say that we don’t have to deal with those roadblocks and allow Him to direct our current steps, but we are not to give up, nor wave the white flag and surrender.  The key themes in I Thessalonians 5:24 are that He is faithful and that He will perform His Word!

You may be in a place today where you think it’s all over for you…  Maybe you think that you had your chance and missed it.  Well, I’m here to tell you that it is just NOT SO!  God’s calling for you is still as real today as it was when you first sensed it… just like I did in that cold, drafty old cabin with a group of rambunctious Junior High boys at snow camp in the mid 1970’s!  

So don’t let go!  God hasn’t given up on you and He is ready and waiting to help you through what you’re facing today, so that you can complete the call He has planned specifically just for you!  Remember… “Faithful is the One calling you (present tense), who also will perform it.”  Have a good week ahead.  Stay in tune to His Word, and keep asking yourself… “What am I expecting today?”

 PS:  Mandie just came in from the outside patio with a contented look on her face as the squirrel is gone and now she can go on with the rest of her daily scheduled activities…