Sunday, July 10, 2011

Keep On Chuckin'

One afternoon, on a breezy day, I opened up my front door. Do you know what I saw?




He looked at me, and proceeded to chew on our porch.

Now, we have had trouble with the squirrels chewing on the porch. They only started it once we freshly stained it.

When the wood was dull, and there wasn't very much color to it, the squirrels left it alone.

But, as soon as I stained it a nice, cherry wood color, it was like I had put an "All You Can Eat" sign on the steps.

So, Hubs put more stain on it. The next day, the same spot was chewed again. Apparently, fresh stain is rather tasty. Who knew.

One of our friends told Hubs to put some hot sauce in the stain the next time. It seems that they find it a little less tasty if the stain has some "bite" to it. No pun intended.

Seemed to work for a little while. Then, it must have worn off, because they went back to snacking.
This is when Mr. Woodchuck showed up. To say I was startled would be putting it mildly.

More hot sauce and stain.

More chewing.

Mr. Woodchuck greeted Hubs one morning when he opened the door. Hubs just stood there, and MW (Mr. Woodchuck) went right back to chuckin' our wood.

Seems like all along the squirrels were not our only problem. We had never seen MW on the porch before. We had no idea he was using our porch to help sharpen his teeth.

This made me think about persistence. MW and the squirrels are persistent. No matter how hard we have tried to thwart their plans, they will not give up.

Reminds me that I shouldn't give up, just because things get hard, and fresh stain mixed with hot sauce is applied to my life.

What about you?

Are you willing to give up when things get hard? What are you trying to do that you feel like giving up on?

You fill in the blank.

I know what it means for me.

God never promised our lives would be easy. In fact, He told us that we WILL have trouble. Not might.....will.

The question is, what are you going to do when that trouble comes? Who are you going to turn to?

Family will disappoint us. Friends betray us. People just won't understand.

Only God has always promised to be there. No matter what.

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9 (NIV)

This scripture verse hangs on my oldest daughter's wall. She put it there. It means something to her.

It means something to me.

It reassures me that no matter where I am, or what I am going through, God is with me.

The words "strong" and "courageous" are not words I would use to describe myself. I tend to be more "weak" and "anxious".

This verse reminds me that with God's help, I can be strong and courageous. Even though that is not in my nature.

I don't have to be afraid or discouraged when I can't see the path clearly. God is with me, and He can.

Keep on chuckin'.



















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