Chipper met us at the dining room door for treats almost
every day. My children delighted in feeding the fat little fur-ball. Several times I caught my one-year-old son “holding hands” with the red squirrel through the glass door wall — as Chipper’s little paw reached inward and
Charles’ pudgy toddler hand pressed against the glass.
My husband’s spinal column had collapsed about six months before
Chipper began his visits. Pete had been home on disability since that time, and Chipper brightened
otherwise dull days. Our family gathered to watch when Chipper scurried
to the door, perched on his haunches with front paws folded, and peeked in at
us with reserved yet amazing boldness. Then, quick as a wink, he snatched the
cracker, chip or old bagel and rushed it off to the top of a big rock or up a
tree to dine in privacy.
Chipper received his name from my husband who dubbed him
after a feeding frenzy on a bag of Better Maid potato chips. Some days he arrived
before we were out of bed, evidenced by tiny tracks in the snow on the
flagstone patio. We regretted the times we missed the little fellow.
One day, as I sipped a cup of coffee between the squirrel’s
breakfast courses, I smiled and thought about the many blessings I had received in my life. I thought
about Chipper and how he had everything he needed provided by God through His creation. Chipper didn’t
need the morsels we gave him, but they were treats for him in the cold winter
months, and our family took pleasure in giving them to him and watching him nibble away.
My musings came to a halt, and my smile quickly faded when a
huge black bird, almost as big as our plump furried friend, landed on the patio beside him. The bird
seemed to make no threatening gestures or sounds, yet Chipper darted into a
bush, hid his cracker and ran away. The bird pecked around in the snow,
shuffled over to the shrubs and snatched Chipper’s treat. He ate it with gusto,
and I became angry as I watched through the glass.
How dare that unwelcome, uninvited ugly black bird take what did not belong to him!
In a flash, my thoughts turned again to God’s blessings…how
He “daily loadeth us with benefits”…and how our enemy comes to steal them. I
wondered how God feels when He sees blessings He’s given to His children
stolen away.
I don’t know that Chipper had to forfeit his cracker to the
old, black bird; but he put it down . . . and the bird took it for himself.
Perhaps my thoughts seem like apples and oranges, but the scene that played outside the glass door gave me pause and made me consider for myself how easily I "drop" my blessings. Whether a real or perceived threat, or just a simple distraction of life, I am
determined to hold on — hold on to the blessings I’ve received.
Each day I hope to remember to choose
to keep them fresh in my mind so there will be no opportunity
for the enemy to deceive or distract me — to rob me of what it pleased God to
give me. I will keep my blessings — among them: forgiveness, peace, truth, love and joy — and nothing
will separate me from my gifts because I’ve chosen to lay them down.
Like the old Shirley Caeser song says, "This joy I have, the world didn't give it to me, and the world can't take it away!" Click on the link to hear it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFr9U-o3GKM
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