When I was a little girl, I was never happier than the day my dad would bring home a rescued animal. He worked in the log woods, and in spite of his gruff demeanor, he had a heart for animals who needed a helping hand. I can't begin to count the number of baby squirrels that we raised. I remember that we had a "squirrel house" made from a large wooden spool encased with chicken wire. The squirrels seemed to love it and would run in circles most of the day when they weren't busy trying to figure out whether to hide or horde peanuts in their house. We would raise them to become responsible adult squirrels and would then turn them loose. By this time in their lives, they were so tame that they just did not want to leave our yard. They soon learned that my dad would keep peanuts in the pocket of his bib overalls for them; they would see him in the yard and run up his pants leg, sit on his shoulder, and fish for peanuts out of his pocket.
This was all well and good . . . until . . . the day the squirrels left the yard and ventured out into the world. They had discovered that Mrs. Hubbard, who lived just down the road, had a huge pecan tree in her front yard. The morning we heard her screaming and we couldn't find our yard squirrels, we began to suspect what might have happened. Mrs. Hubbard, wearing a long housecoat, had gone outside to check the mailbox. The squirrels (two of them) saw an opportunity to run up her housecoat and sit on her shoulder to look for peanuts that they were sure she had in her pocket. (Apparently overalls and long housecoats were one and the same in the mind of a fashion-deprived squirrel.) Poor lady. I don't think she ever really recovered from the mental trauma of the squirrel episode. Poor squirrels. I don't think they ever recovered either.
And then I got to thinking about how God even takes care of little squirrels and other creatures.
* He has given the squirrels the innate knowledge that there is food inside the hard shell of a nut. How does a squirrel know that it's nuts only and not nut-sized rocks they should be looking for? They just know.
* Not all squirrels bury their nuts. Gray squirrels do bury their nuts, but only find approximately 26% of them. Red squirrels horde their nuts in piles. If it weren't for the gray squirrels, germination would not take place in the majority of the 74% of unfound nuts, and our forests would be significantly sparser. So how does a squirrel know whether to bury or horde? They just know.
* Geese migrate every winter, and there is a very specific formation to their flight pattern. They always fly in a "V" because it conserves their energy. Each bird flies slightly above the bird in front of him, resulting in a reduction of wind resistance. The birds take turns being in the front, falling back when they get tired. In this way, the geese can fly for a long time before they must stop for rest. How do they know where they're going and how to fly in an energy efficient formation? They just know.
* We watched a baby calf get separated from its mother here just the other day. Another cow came to the calf and led it to its mother. How did the cow know to do that? She just knew.
* When Noah had completed the ark, the animals came to the ark in pairs (male and female). Scholars have estimated that almost 45,000 animals could have fit into the ark. Out of those tens of thousands of animals, how did one specific pair know to come to the ark? How did they know to pair up? They just knew.
So . . . . sometimes we get all caught up in thinking that God couldn't possibly care about the small details of our lives. Like the red squirrel, we horde our pile of problems and worries and don't take them to God. Or like the gray squirrel, we bury those problems thinking that we'll just come back to them later. We don't always invite God even for the big problems and worries because we're too busy trying to handle those problems ourselves. But He knows. And it matters.
My friend sang a song Sunday morning that was such a blessing to me - "It Matters To The Master". I hope she won't mind that I'm sharing those lyrics with you. (Wish you could have heard her sing it!) (And by the way, I had already started on this blog before she sang this song. It was no coincidence. God orchestrates every detail of our lives and NOTHING is by chance. Isn't that awesome!)
"When life lets you down, and you feel more broken than whole; When the wounds go deeper than words and you can't tell a soul; I may not know what you're going through, May not can make that high mountain move, But one thing I've found that I really want you to know. Friend, do you think the Maker and giver of life Is far too busy to care 'bout your trouble and strife? He sees the sparrow that falls to the ground And He hears the tears that don't make a sound. If you only knew how precious you are in His sight. If it matters to you, it matters to the Master. He wants to share the burdens you bear, Whisper peace when your world gets shattered. If it's your greatest joy or your deepest pain, Or you're really needing an answer; If it matters to you, it matters to the Master."
