Miracle

A twig snapped. Brayleigh turned to see a pair of yellow eyes staring at her. A wolf!

At first, she was rooted to her spot staring at the powerful black furry creature. Fear brought sweat to her brow and her heart beat against her ribs. A slow step back. Another. The ground beneath her foot slid. Swoosh! Gravity pulled her through the hole. Thud. She landed in the dark earth. Terror gripped her before the pain in her arm. She landed with her arm twisted under her.

From her shoulder to her fingers pain seared. She used her other arm to raise herself off the injured one. It must be broken. Fingers refused to move. Sure enough—a bone was almost sticking through the skin. She passed out.

A while later, she came to and realization of her predicament assailed her. She needed help!

First, she had to immobilize her arm. She inched her belt off, refastened the buckle, and slid it over her head. With gentle movements, she placed her injured arm on the belt and her hand between the buttons of her shirt, to rest on her stomach.

She peered around her. The space was a small room. It didn’t appear to be any other way out—but up. Sunlight barely penetrated. Shaking, she rose and leaned against the wall of her cave. Her head swam and her breath was ragged. A yell would not be heard from any human. She was all alone.

It was up to her and she needed to climb out. Try as she might, she was not able get a good toe hold. A few rocks littered the ground. Brayleigh drug them over to make stepping stones. She tentatively climbed. The climb was slow—she only had use of one hand. Any jolt of the injured one brought extreme pain.

The fourth stone slipped and so did she. Bang! This time, she landed on her backside and thankfully didn’t hit her head. “Thank You, Lord!” The prayer escaped her lips. Realization struck her. She hadn’t prayed. “Lord, I am all alone and hurt. Please help me. I need strength to get out or... a miracle.”

Sweet peace washed over her. With new resolve, she stacked the rocks. She tilted her head up and glimpsed a ledge. “I just need to get to the ledge then maybe I can pull myself up from there.” She giggled. “I’m talking to myself again. Oh, well, hearing myself makes me feel better.”

She lifted her leg. Snap! She spun to the noise. “What was that?” Brayleigh didn’t see anything. Dead silence met her. Her foot came down on the first rock. As she climbed, she kept her eyes peeled to where the sound came from. A scraping came from the dark crevice. She was not alone!

A nose poked out followed by dark eyes. She didn’t wait to find out what it was. Fear made her scramble up the rocks. From the top rock, she leapt to the ledge, pulling herself up. She lie panting on the flat surface. “Amazing! I made it! Thank you Lord!” She paused and frowned, “Did you just give me a miracle?” She poked her face over the edge. “Wow. What a long way down. I wouldn’t normally be able to make the jump. I guess the Lord sent that, whatever it is, to frighten me into a mighty leap.” A smile grew at the realization.

Her legs were weak but held her up. Brayleigh stretched and reached. “I can’t reach the top!” She sat. Knees up and head resting on them, she prayed. “Lord, I need another miracle. I’m too short to reach out of this hole. My arm is throbbing. I keep getting dizzy. I’m frightened, tired, and thirsty. No one knows where I am and I don’t want to cry.” A sob erupted. She swallowed another. Brayleigh got to her feet. Automatically, she reached up and her foot found a hold. The rock took her weight. Her other foot found a thick protruding root.

There she was—suspended on the side of the wall, with loose dirt sliding down all around her. She hugged and pressed as she searched for another foot hold. That’s when she almost screamed!

Those yellow eyes pierced hers. The wolf!

 

She trembled. Did he want to eat her? She whispered, “Lord, now what do I do?”

“He is my creation. Trust me.”

Those words reverberated through her being. “Is that You, Lord?”

“Reach up.”

Her hand reached upward almost on its own. The wolf leaned toward her and opened his mouth. She squeezed her eyes tight. A tug on her shirt collar and she was rising. Without a second thought, she opened her eyes and grabbed hold of soft fur. Inch by inch she ascended.  The progress stopped. The wolf started to slip. “Oh no! Lord, please!”

Wings beat the air around her. A huge black bird grabbed the other side of her shirt. Together they pulled her up and over the side. The bird swooped away to the nearest tree to survey her. The wolf trotted a bit away, sat and glowered at her. Brayleigh trembled. She slowly sat up—careful of her injury.

“Thank you again Lord. I don’t understand. Why would these animals help me? Your ways are higher than mine. Shall I get up and go home? How do I thank these beautiful yet frightening creatures?”

All through her prayer to the Lord, her eyes had never left the wolf. “Thank you wolf for saving my life.” She relaxed.

Her gaze went to the bird she believed to be a hawk. “Thank you for helping the wolf save my life.” The hawk dipped his head, flapped his mighty wings, and soared into the cloudless blue sky.

She turned toward the wolf, but he was gone. Brayleigh swiveled her head back and forth. “Well, if you are still watching, I’m leaving now.”

She carefully picked herself up and headed home. “No one will believe me. But I know what happened. Mama always said, ‘God works in mysterious ways.’ Oh, boy... does He!”

 

Boys and girls, the Lord does do things we cannot understand. Anything He does is a miracle because He is the only one who does miracles. His miracles may be large ones like what happened to Brayleigh or small ones we don’t see or recognize. He protects us and gives us things we need all the time. All we need to do is have faith in Him. Trust Him to get us through. He doesn’t say He will take away our trials but that He will get us through them. We just need to have faith. Brayleigh is a fictional character from my imagination but I know people who have experience great miracles like she did, myself included.

The thing I want you to take away from this story is faith and a relationship with the Lord. If you have trusted the Lord as Savior, you have a loving heavenly Father who wants what is best for you. He loves for you to talk to him about anything. You develop the kind of relationship Brayleigh exampled by talking to him and listening to His voice and reading His words in the Bible.

 

The verse Brayleigh quoted is Isaiah: 55:8 “For my thought are not your thoughts, nor are your way my ways.” says the Lord.

It would be a great idea if you memorized that verse.

 

Verses in NKJV unless otherwise stated

 

 

Influences

I drove down a curvy road when out of the corner of my eye—I saw it—just in time.  A gigantic rock bounced down the hillside at me. Reflex made me swerve. I barely missed it. The boulder crashed down the other side.  It uprooted a sapling. The huge monstrosity landed with a thud against a giant tree.

A gasps escaped my lips. The brakes screeched as I skidded to a stop. My hand trembled as I drug it over my face. A few moments passed as I tried to catch my breath. That was close.

"Thank you Lord Jesus! You protected me again!" My prayer was spoken in a whisper but with urgency. I knew I could have been taken down with the boulder. My little car would have been no match for the rock's enormous weight and momentum.  Finally, I felt calm enough to keep driving. My glances around me and up the hill became more frequent as I carefully drove. I replayed the scene over in my head.  Soon, my thoughts turned to the rock itself. It had seemed to be after me, but I knew that was not true. It was a reddish color made out of the dirt surrounding it. It may have started small but as it rolled it took on mass.

The last few days it had rained. The mountains here were thousands of feet high. If a stone dislodged and gathered dirt and mud around it, bit by bit, it would grow. Over and over again soil, leaves, and debris would grab hold. I knew rolling a snowball around your yard made it bigger, until you had the base of a snowman. Maybe, this applied to masses of soil, mud, and leaves.

My thoughts compared the rock to my life and the things I let affect me. I know bitterness starts as a small hurt or offense, but will grow into an ugly mass if I let it. People, circumstances, and things I read and watch mold me into who I am. Those can be good and make me a strong rock full of peace, love, and kindness. Those could also be bad influences that make me weak, sad, bitter, and even cruel. I may surround myself with a mixture of great and poor influences.

I want to be strong, kind, and full of love for others. How can I make sure I become that way? I need to pick good friends that build me up--not put in negative thoughts that will make cracks in my being. The books I read and the shows I watch should be carefully picked. The activities I do, places I go, and all the things that occupy my time should be considered.

This is the way the Lord wants me to live. He wants to be the focus of my life. The Lord should be my guide when I decide who to hang out with, places to go, what books to read, shows to watch, and things to do. As I’m around these things I want them to help me become a solid person who makes the best choices. I want people to see a strong woman with deep faith, love for others, kindness, and with a conviction to do the right thing.

What do you want to become? Strong? Weak? Solid but with a crack of bad running through? Choose wisely. I don’t want to think I’m solid--then break apart because I let in some bad influence. There is a saying: a bad apple can spoil the whole bushel. I don’t want to be spoiled or turn out bad because I was around the wrong person or thing in my life. How about you?

Ponder and memorize: Hebrews 10:24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works. (NKJV)  Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. (NLT)

Proverbs 27:17 As Iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.

Proverbs 27:21b and a man is valued by what others say of him.

Verses in NKJV unless otherwise stated

Keep your filters clean

My vacuum had an issue today. It wasn’t working like it should. A vacuum sucks up dirt and deposits into the collection bin. The vacuum’s motor needs to breath to work properly. The designers added filters to catch dust before it’s sucked into the wrong places of the machine. If these filters get clogged the motor loses some of it power and cannot pick up the dirt as easily. The bin that catches the dirt needs to be emptied regularly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I tell you all that because as I got frustrated when the vacuum wasn’t strongly sucking up debris. I looked at the full canister and dirty filters and I thought about hearts. You may be frowning now, thinking I have lost my marbles. What does a heart have to do with a vacuum?

Our bodies suck in things.

We breathe in air. I love to smell the grass after it’s just been mowed. Flowers, especially roses, are wonderful to take a whiff of. But some flowers can make a person sneeze. I bet you love to smell your favorite food cooking. Perfume can remind you of someone. Even with a blind fold on you could know what kind of a store you were in if it was a chocolate store. Coffee lures people by its smell.

We swallow food and drink. Sometimes we need to ingest medicine when we are sick. Our favorite food is gobbled yet we can hardly choke down what we don’t like.

Ears pick up sounds and conversations. I know its spring when I hear the birds chirping. Music can fill your ears and change your mood. Some sounds are pleasant and make you smile. A baby’s laugh will make you laugh. You can guess a scary part is coming on a movie when you hear the creepy music. A simple “I love you” can make your day.

Information comes in through our touch—soft, hard, cold, hot, bumpy, or smooth.

Eyes take in an incredible amount. We see on people’s faces how they are feeling. Words on a page come to life as we read them. Television, movies, and video games entertain us through our eyes. Colors around us come alive and we know the wind is blowing because we see the trees move.

Our bodies were made to take in an incredible amount of stimulus and information. The problem with that is we can become over loaded with too much information or the information can be harmful.

Your ears may hear something mean said about another person—gossip.  The ear can pick up angry words which hurt. You may accidentally or on purpose hear a secret that now is difficult to keep.

Ears and especially eyes have the greatest risks. Damage to our hearts can come through our ears and eyes. If we hear or see something we shouldn’t it gets burned into our brain. We will have a difficult time forgetting it.

Our heart is like a vacuum. The heart takes in experiences through our senses. Eyes, ears, smell, taste, and touch are like filters. The filters catch things and through them we experience things. Those experiences can be cleansing or damaging. Are your filters clogged with harmful things that get into your heart? We need to be careful what kinds of things we are hearing, seeing, and doing. Movies are both sound and images. Be careful what you watch. Computers can be a wonderful tool or a hazard to your heart. People and places can be wonderful or harmful.

I looked into my vacuum filters and they were covered in dust and the motor could not breathe well. I had to take out the filters and clean them to make the motor breathe and the vacuum to do what it was designed to do.

When we take in garbage through our eyes and ears, our hearts and minds get clogged with dirt. It’s harder to get the filth out of our hearts and minds. We can’t hose them off. We can turn to the Lord to help us by praying and reading His word, the Bible.

When harmful images or words come flooding back in our minds, we need to stop and pray. Ask the Lord to help you forget them and then read something wholesome and good. The Bible or bible stories are a great way to escape to a magnificent peaceful place.

The best way to protect your eyes and ears is to not go there. Don’t participate in things that muddy up your heart and mind. Run from them. Your parent probably has given you precautions or instructions as to what you should or shouldn’t do. There may be people you should stay away from, T.V. shows that may harm you, or activities you should not do. The Lord gave you parents, grandparents, and guardians to help steer you toward good and healthful things and away from rotten things. Here is a picture of me and friends next to a statue that is the monkeys: SEE NO EVIL, HEAR NO EVIL, AND SAY NO EVIL.

 

The Lord wants us to have a clean heart. This includes memorizing and knowing God’s word in your heart. You can have a clean heart by first accepting Jesus as your Savior. Second, by making and keeping a close relationship with Him.

This reminds me of a song I sang as a child. After you are given permission from your parent, guardian, or teacher you can listen:

Oh Be Careful Little Eyes

Memorize one or both: James 4:8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Job 22:22 Receive, please, instruction from His mouth, and lay up His words in your heart.

Verses in NKJV unless otherwise stated

Prayer/ Petition

A few weeks ago, I talked about praying with thankfulness. You can read about the lesson here In our story, Jace learned that the Lord loves to hear us thank Him, just like you and I like to hear the words ‘Thank You.’ God desires for us to have thankful hearts and He loves to hear us thank Him.

Jace’s mom took Jace to the ice cream stand. She said, “Jace you can order anything you’d like.”

His eyes grew large and a huge smile spread across his face. “Wow! Anything?”

His mom smiled and nodded.

Jace looked over the menu. On the menu were pictures along with the words. “Can I have three scoops of  ice cream on a chocolate cone?”

“Yes. Go ahead and tell the man what you would like.”

“I'd like an ice cream cone. Three scoops, with strawberry on the bottom next to a chocolate cone, chocolate next, and pistachio on the top please.”

“Coming right up.” said the man with the white hat.

The man handed Jace his ice cream cone. Jace and his mom sat down on a nearby  bench.

Soon, Jace had ice cream on his face. The green pistachio tasted great.

“Jace, do you like your ice cream?”

Jace’s mouth was full so he nodded.

“Remember a few weeks ago you asked for ice cream and I said no?”

“Yes.”

“I said eating ice cream at that time would spoil your dinner. You asked me a few times that afternoon and I still said no. I didn’t let you have the ice cream because it was better for you to eat your dinner of meat, potatoes, and vegetables than to get full on ice cream. Ice cream is not as nutritious as some other foods.”

Jace started on the strawberry. His face had green, brown, and pink smeared together.

His mom continued, “Today, I thought you should have some ice cream because dinner will be a little later and I wanted to give you a treat. A few weeks ago, you asked me for ice cream and I said no, but today you didn’t ask and I said yes. The Lord is the same way. He likes for us to ask Him for things and sometimes He says, ‘Yes’ and sometimes He says, ‘No.’ On occasion He says, ‘Not now.’ He knows what is best for us. The Lord will even give us things we didn’t ask for. Did you know you can ask the Lord for the same thing repeatedly and He will not be upset?”

Jase asked, “I can ask God for anything?”

“Yes you can, but remember if He says ‘No’ you need to thank Him and stop asking.”

Jace’s mom picked up a napkin and said, “Let me help you wipe the extra ice cream off your face.”

They walked to the playground to play for a while. Later, they walked home. Jace could hardly wait to tell his dad about his three scoop ice cream cone.

…

A widow, which is a woman whose husband died, asked a judge to help her with a problem she had with someone. Luke 18:1-8 tells us that she asked over and over to this judge. The judge got tired of her asking and answered her request. Jesus said we should be like her—asking day and night. Luke 18:1b and 7b NLT …they should always pray and never give up. …God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to Him day and night.

Asking over and over is called a petition. God says in His word that we can petition Him. We cannot wear out the Lord by asking over and over.  He said we can pray for the same things again and again. When I want a certain thing or feel a strong desire for something, I ask for that something over and over. After a while, if I haven’t received an answer from the Lord, I add to my petition: “Lord, if you don’t want me to have this desire of my heart, please change my desire.” When we do this, we make ourselves open to what the Lord wants in our heart and lives.   

Sometimes what I want is a good thing, but not the best thing for me. When I make my heart available to the Lord to mold to His will, He turns my desires to things that are better for me.

A long time ago, I prayed for years for something. Finally, I said, “Lord if this desire is not what you want for me, then change my desire.”

The Lord changed my desire. Later, I saw what I had been petitioning for wouldn’t have been the best thing for me. The Lord knows what is best for us and He knows the future. He knows that if I have a certain something, someone, or a change in circumstances, it may be bad for me in my future. He only gives us things that will be best for us and for His glory.

So boys and girls keep asking or petitioning God. Remember to be open to having your desire changed if He wants.

Memorize one or both of these verses:

Luke 18:1 Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart.

Luke 11:9 So I say to you, ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.

Verses in NKJV unless otherwise stated.

Prayer of Thanksgiving

Jace and his mom walked on the path in the park. Jace loves to be outdoors. The sky was blue with a few wispy clouds. The park had green grass, big trees, and pretty flowers. The huge park has a lake with fish, ducks, and geese. He loved to play on the playground which was on the other end of the park. Jace enjoyed the long walk through the park.

His mom used this time to teach Jace about the plants, flowers, and animals they came accross. Today was no exception. As they walked, hand in hand, she asked him the names of the flowers and animals they saw. He remembered their names.

A sparrow bird up in a tree said, “Tweet, Tweet.” paused and continued, “Tweet, twitter, tweet, tweet.”

“Jace, what do you think the bird is saying.?” asked his mom.

He shrugged. “I don’t know.”

“She’s probably saying, ‘Thank you for the beautiful morning.’”

Farther on their walk, they heard a squirrel in a tree.

Smiling Jace asked, “What did the squirrel say?”

“He said, ‘Thank you for the tasty nuts.”

Jace thought about that as they walked farther. When they rounded the curve, there stood the lake. The lake was a deep blue and lapped against the shore. Overhead flew a few geese. “Honk, honk, honk, honk!”

“Those geese are saying, ‘Thank you for the gift of flight!’” said his mom.

Jace frowned. “Who are the animals thanking?”

“The Lord.” answered his mom.

“Why are they thanking the Lord?” asked Jace.

Jace, who created the world?”

“God.”

“Who created the plants and animals?”

“God did.”

“That’s right. God, the Lord, created this beautiful world we live in. They are telling Him thank you for what He has done.”

“Mom, does God hear them?”

“Yes, like He hears you when you talk to Him, even when you use your silent inside voice. You can tell God anything. When you are afraid, sad, worried, any feeling, even when you are angry. He listens and will help you through those times.”

Jace nodded.

“Remember yesterday when you brought me my tea I'd left in the kitchen?”

Jace nodded.

“I didn’t ask for my tea, but you saw it and knew I had just sat down in the living room. What did I do when you gave the to me?”

Jace said, “You took it and put it down on the table. Then you gave me a hug and said, ‘Thank you, I needed that.’”

“How did that make you feel?” asked his mom.

Jace smiled. “Good.”

“I bet you felt appreciated. God loves to hear us say, thank you, too. He has done many wonderful things for us and wants to hear us say those simple things. Thanking him should be part of our prayer. We have a tendency to only ask for things from God, when what we should do is thank Him and praise Him.”

“Mom, should we do that now?”

“Why not?”

Together in the park, they sat down and told the Lord “Thank you.”

Boys and girls, do you thank the Lord in your prayers? Thanking him is what the Lord wants us to do.

Memorize: 1 Chronicles 16:8-9 Give thanks to the Lord! Call upon His name; make known His deeds among the peoples! Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him; talk of His wondrous works!

Verses in NKJV unless otherwise stated.

Christian Living

Have you ever seen a porcupine? They’re funny looking mammals in the rodent family. They live in North and South America, Southern Asia, Europe and Africa. The ones in North America are different than the others. They are equipped with single quills all over their bodies and can climb trees. In fact, they love to be in trees where predators can’t get them.

Our story is about a young porcupine named Corky who lives in North America, high in the mountains in the state of Washington.  Like all babies, he was cute when he was born. Porcupines are born with soft fur. In a few hours to a few days, the fur toughens up and become spiny quills. These quills come off very easily, especially when a porcupine is attacked. If a wolf or other predator tries to take down a porcupine and strikes, the quills get stuck in them. These quills are hard to pull out because there is a barb at the end which gets stuck. The porcupines quill will grow back after losing one.

Most porcupines live alone or in small groups. They are not social animals, probably because they can hurt other animals so easily. It's not a good idea to pet a porcupine unless the porcupine made its quills lie flat. Corky would not intentionally hurt other animals, but he can’t get close enough to them to tell them. He is sad because he doesn’t have any friends. He lives with his mom and they are the only porcupines around. Other animals shy away from him. Corky, like all porcupines, is a slow walker. This creates a problem because when he sees another animal he would like to befriend, he can’t get close enough fast enough to talk to them into staying.

Corky complains and grumbles about this to his mom. His mom, Ashley, has tried to get him to be happy with the way he is made and realize porcupines live by themselves.

“But Mom, I want friends! I want to hang out with other animals. I want to play, jump, and run like the mice do. I want to hang out with the birds who sing pretty. Even the skunks run away from me.”

Corky, I’m sorry you feel this way. I wish you would learn to be happy about being by yourself and enjoy watching and listening to other animals without being near them. We play together and it's fun. What would you like to do?”

“Never mind, there’s not much we can do except roll pinecones at each other.” As he said that he plopped down and put his head under his paws.

“Over the hill are some ripe black berries. We can eat some before the bears and birds get them all. Would you like to go with me?”

“Oh, I suppose so.”

He got up slowly and with his head down followed his mom. She got farther ahead of him and he couldn’t see her. “Mom! Mom, where are you?”

She didn’t answer and he realized she was farther away than he thought. He became concerned because he had never been this way before and wasn't sure where his mom went. He walked on, but this time he kept his head up looking around and trying to hear her paw steps.

Meanwhile his mom, Ashley, was in a jam. She had trotted a little bit faster than normal because she wanted Corky to think and get used to the idea of being alone. Soon, he would be old enough to leave her side and make his own way in the world. Ashley came across a bear eating the berries she wanted Corky to enjoy. The bear saw her and didn’t want her to have the berries or come close. In fact, he backed her up. She didn’t want to fight him so she backed up right into a bramble of thorns. She was caught. The thorns had entangled not only her quills but her fur as well.

She was afraid of letting loose of the quills that could help free her, in case she needed them on the bear. Trying to decide what to do, she spied Corky.

“Mom, what are you doing?”

“I’m stuck in these thorns and that bear wants me to stay that way. Go back to our favorite tree and I’ll join you later after I get free. The bear is not friendly.”

Corky walked up to the bear. “Ah Mr. Bear, how are you? My name is Corky and I would like to be your friend. I won’t hurt you. Can we play, climb a tree, or something?”

The bear turned and rose up on his two back legs then growled at Corky. “Are you crazy? I don’t want anything to do with you except maybe eat you. Now get lost or I’ll hurt you!”

Corky didn’t know what to do. He was afraid of the bear because the bear was huge. He looked back at his mom and realized she was now struggling to free herself, which only made her more stuck. The bear took a few steps toward Corky with fury in his eyes. Corky had never been this close to any animal let alone a bear five times his size.  Corky’s instincts took over. He turned his back to the bear and tucked his head. The bear swatted him and came away with quills stuck in his giant paw. This infuriated the bear. He opened his mouth to bite Corky. This time the quills came off inside the bear’s mouth. This was more than the bear had bargained for and didn't want to get more. The bear ran away crashing through the trees. Corky watched him run and heard him for quite some time. Corky thought the bear would come back and finish him. He was also afraid the bear might hurt his mom.  He needed to help her get unstuck. Together using their teeth and paws, they were able to extract her from the brambles.

With as much speed as two porcupines can go, they ran home to their tree.

When they were finally safe on their favorite branch, Mom said, “Corky you were very brave. You could've been hurt or worse by that bear.”

“I didn’t know he would be so mean. He frightened me and I turned away from his angry eyes and face. I didn’t realize my quills would come off so easily.”

“Yes, they do come off without much effort. That’s why most animals are afraid of us. We’re made different than other animals. Some animals are equipped with sharp teeth and claws for protection. Those animals can also run fast. Some can dash away and hide. Others fly away from danger. Every animal has distinct attributes. They can use them for good or bad. There were enough berries for the bear to share. He wanted them all to him self. When you wouldn’t leave he attacked you. He used his size, claws, and teeth to frighten you. You used your quills to protect yourself. He had no choice but to run away. My guess is he's by the stream trying to get those quills out. Hopefully, he learned his lesson. He might want revenge. You need to stay away from the berries and the area where we encountered him. Also, you should stay close to me for a while incase we need to fight him together. He might try to sneak up on you. This is why we stay away from the other animals. We are so different. We cannot communicate well with any of them and we don’t have anything in common. Also, some are harmful to us.”

Corky learned many things that day. He learned dangers exist in the world. It was alright to be different. Corky didn’t complain and grumble anymore. He now understood to stay away from most animals. The best part was he realized he had the ability to take care of himself and his mom was proud of his bravery.

In our Christian lives we can come across things that are similar to what Corky experienced.  We can feel alone, singled out, or different than other people. God has called us to be His people living in the world but not participating in the wrong things of this world. Sometimes that makes us alone. When we take a stand about something no one else does, we may be by ourselves.

The bear Corky encountered is a picture of people we need to stay away from. They are not doing right and might hurt us. It could even be our friend but now we see things they are doing and know we need to avoid them. The bear also symbolizes or makes a picture of sin we need to stay away from. Sin will eventually hurt us.

Corky was complaining in our story. Complaining is something we shouldn’t do. Complaining or grumbling is a bad habit to get into. We need to bring our issues or request to the Lord and ask Him to help us through them. Contentment is something God wants us to learn. Contentment is being happy about the things in your life you cannot control or change, like your height or eye color. There is nothing wrong with growing, learning, and changing what we can. Our attitude may be one of the things we need to change.

In all areas of our life we need to take the Lord with us. We need to ask Him if we should act a certain way, have a particular friend, or stay away from someone or something. He will guide you if you ask Him. He uses our parents to help us make those choices. Ask them those questions and they will be happy to answer.

Psalm 37:23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord,
and He delights in his way.  Psalm 32:8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye. Psalm 23:3 He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Psalm 107:9 For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness. 2 Peter 2: 9a  ^…the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations… James 4:7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Memorize: Psalm 107:9 For He satisfies the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with goodness. Or: Psalm 32:8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye.

Verses in NKJV unless otherwise stated.

Christian Walk

If you live in the foothills, mountains, or where there are many trees and flowers, you may have seen a hummingbird. Hummingbirds are very colorful, small, and move very fast. Their size ranges from 2.2 inches to 8.6 inches. Their wings beat 50-75 times per second. They zip around so fast it is hard to keep your eyes on them unless they are eating or looking around. Then, at that moment, they seem to be suspended in midair. They hover like a helicopter. At that moment, you can see their body and the pretty colors of their feathers, but you cannot see their wings because they are moving so fast it is a blur of gray. 

They do not land because their feet will not support them on flat surfaces. They have to perch on branches by curling their feet around the branch to have a rest. They make nests out of vegetation and clump it near the tops of trees. Hummingbirds need to eat often to keep up their energy.

My grandmother had hummingbirds because she had a few hummingbird feeders hanging at the corner eves of her house. She lived in the mountains of Durango Colorado where there were many trees and flowers. She made a sugar water concoction with red food coloring. She put this in the clear feeder. The feeder had holes in the sides where the hummingbird could put its long skinny bill into it and get the red liquid out. The red color attracted the hummingbird’s attention. 

They would appear, all of a sudden, from what seemed like nowhere, and would hover near the drinking hole. They would get a drink and...zip! They were gone. I loved to be outside and watch them zip around. When they passed by, I could hear them hum. Their wings were beating so fast it made a humming sound. That is how it got its name. As fast as it would arrive, it was gone.

Years later, a hummingbird got stuck in our garage. We lived in the foothills just outside of Denver. It had flown in when the big garage door was opened and didn’t know how to get out. It wanted out very badly and was trying to get out of the closed window.  The garage door was wide open, but the hummingbird’s focus was on the window and the trees it could see through the glass. We tried to get its focus off the window and over to the big open door, but we couldn’t. The hummingbird was flitting and darting all over the window and hitting it with its bill in frustration. We were worried it may hurt itself.

Finally, my husband went over to it and took his two large hands and quickly but carefully cupped them over the hummingbird. He then ran over to the big garage door opening and opened his large hands. Zip! It took off like a flash! The bird didn’t stop, it didn’t say thank you, and it never came back into the garage again. My husband said he could feel the hummingbird’s heart fluttering. I’m sure it was very frightened! At the window, it had been frustrated and frightened because it could not understand what was preventing it from escaping. Then it was very frightened because it was enclosed in those large hands and could not see.

That hummingbird shows me many things. First, it went someplace it should not have gone. That place was our garage. It was a dangerous place for the hummingbird because there was no food or water there. Remember I said they needed to eat very often? We didn’t know how long it was trapped it there. It didn’t understand that just because it could see out the window, didn't mean it could get through the window.

Another thing it shows me is the humming bird was impatient. It was frantically trying to get through the glass. If it would have flown away from the window, it would have seen the other light source of the open door, and it could have easily escaped the confines of the garage. It was impatient and kept trying the same thing over and over.

Something else I observe from the hummingbird’s actions is that we sometimes act just like it when we get into trouble. We panic and worry. We have a problem and we cannot see a way out. If we would step back and look at the problem, we would most likely see it clearly and see another option or the "big garage door" open for us.

Another way I see the hummingbird as a picture of us is when we are in a jam of some sort and we try to fix the problem by ourselves. A jam could be something we are having trouble with, like learning in school, having trouble memorizing something, being late for school, getting locked out of our house or car, getting lost in the mall, being afraid at night, losing a special toy, being sad because someone died that was close to us, having to move, going to a new school, or some other problem. We are upset and we try to fix the problem by ourselves. The Lord our heavenly Father wants us to trust Him to help us. He can put his strong hands around us and carry us to a safe place, or way of escape, if we let Him. When we are afraid, we need to trust God to protect us and get us through. When we need help, we need to call out to Him.

We are like the hummingbird in the fact that we don’t understand why things happen. The hummingbird didn’t understand what a garage was. It didn’t know to reverse directions and go back the way it came in. It didn’t understand that it was looking through glass and could not get through it. The trees were outside and it could see them clearly, but it was restricted by the glass. It didn’t understand that those large hands there were to protect and rescue it. The frightening large hands were there to help the hummingbird. We don’t see or understand that even though we may be afraid, in pain, or troubled with something, it is for a short time and for our good. God uses those things in our lives to help us. We can learn from those events God allows in our lives.  

When my husband opened up his hands and set the bird free, I’m sure it felt relieved. When God gets us through the problem or pain, we feel relieved. Sometimes he even carries us through it in His strong hands, but we just cannot see them.

Remember when I said the hummingbird never looked back nor said thank you? I was teasing, because we would never expect a hummingbird to do that in real life. We are like the hummingbird because after we have gone through the trial, we forget to look back to remember and learn from it. Also, more importantly, we forget to say thank you to our heavenly Father for getting us through the trial.

So what can we learn from the hummingbird that got caught in our garage? Patience, trust, to not panic and worry, to not go where we shouldn’t, to not try and fix the problem ourselves, and to realize  that we may not understand it but God does. Then we need to learn from it, look back and remember. Most importantly, we need to thank the Lord for the trial He took us through. He promises He will get us through the trial.

The Lord reminds us to be patient and to trust. Romans 12:12, rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing in prayer…We need to trust and not try to figure it out for ourselves.  Proverbs 3:5&6, Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths. Jesus tells us five times not to worry in Matthew 6:25-34.

So, I hope you will learn from our hummingbird friend. I also think you may come up with other things you can learn from the hummingbird. If you would like, please write your thoughts in the comment box.

Memorize all or part of Proverbs 3:5&6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.  

Verses in NKJ unless otherwise stated.