Enduring The Rain

     This has been one of Central Texas’s coldest and wettest winters in years. This morning was no exception to this trend with temperatures in the 40’s and a steady rain. I was in my warm house sitting on the couch reading a book. I was surprised to see a squirrel scurrying about just outside my window. The squirrel was feeding on the ripe yaupon berries. Evidently the squirrel was really hungry, to get out in the cold rain. I quickly grabbed my camera and started taking some pictures. I am accustomed to seeing the squirrels with their beautiful fur and long bushy tails. Unfortunately this squirrel in the rain didn’t look to healthy. Its wet fur was sticking together and its tail looked like a wet mop! The squirrel was holding its tail above its head, like an umbrella, but the rain drops were still dripping in its face. Every few minutes it would shake itself to try to get rid of the water. I saw another squirrel come out for a few seconds and then quickly went back under the cover of a big tree limb. The first squirrel was still feeding 15 minutes later, when I left to answer a phone call.

    Sometimes we do things that we are not comfortable doing. Just as the hunger was driving the squirrel to feed in the rain, situations in our lives can drive us to get our of our comfort zone and take drastic actions. The Bible has many examples of people taking drastic actions, and examples of God responding to their drastic actions. The city of Samaria was under siege by the Syrians. The people were running out of food. The four lepers, who begged at the gate of the city, were evidently faring even worse. The lepers finally decided to take drastic action and started for the camp of the Syrians, hoping to get fed. II Kings 7 tells us that God caused their footsteps to be amplified and sound like an enormous army marching towards the Syrians. The Syrians fled in panic and left all their spoils for the lepers and the rest of the people of Samaria, saving the city from starvation.
     So, the next time you are faced with some of life’s obstacles, just remember that with a determined mind and God’s help, miracles will happen!