The Squirrel That Won't Give Up!

A number of people have asked me recently how I’ve been doing in my battle against the squirrel that I wrote about a few weeks ago—the squirrel that was getting into my birdfeeder. The short answer is, not so well.  I tried the cayenne pepper; that didn’t work. (He must like spicy food!) I put a rounded metal top over the feeder so he can’t come from above.  In fact, I watched as he tried to climb onto it and subsequently fell to the ground. I’ve seen him try to climb the pole from the bottom and just slide down, especially when it’s cold.  His only strategy is to now leap from a nearby branch and land flat onto the side of the birdfeeder, grabbing onto it with all he’s worth!  I’ve seen him try it and fail. But, I’ve also seen him succeed—and, he’s getting better at it with practice.  He just won’t give up! I must say, he’s quite a persistent little creature, not only persistent but also resourceful and smart. 

This guy reminds me of my squirrel!

Like that squirrel who is fighting to get to the birdseed in my feeder, we all face challenges in life that have the potential to keep us from our goals or that in some way hinder our lives. And, we all have our own ways of responding. Some of us just naturally fight back. Some of us climb into bed and hope that tomorrow will turn out a little bit better.  Most of the time, we try to work it through for a bit, but when after one or two tries things don’t turn out the way we thought they would, we tend to give up.  Sometimes our success might be just around the corner, but we never experience it for we give up just a bit too soon. Maybe we all need to become more like that squirrel that keeps on attacking my birdfeeder.  

The Apostle Paul prayed that the people of the church in Colosse would “live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way” and that they would “(bear) fruit in every good work.”  But, he also knew that plenty of challenges and hindrances would come into their lives. Thus he also prayed that they would be  “…strengthened with all power according to (God’s) glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience….” (Colossians 3:11 – NIV)  It’s a good prayer for us to pray for ourselves, as well as for one another.  After all, we could all use a little more endurance and patience. More than that, we all need to be strengthened and filled with the power of God that is able to help us persevere, especially when it comes to our life of faith. 

Let’s pray that God would fill us today with his “glorious might” that is able to help us persevere through whatever may come our way this day!

Have a great day!

Pastor Tim Harris