Be faithful and vigilant!

by Jean Leek, One of Joanne's Sisters Still Here

posted by RE/ MaryAnn, who cherishes her sister Jean dearly. I know we are as helpless as the baby squirrel in the story but I also know we are so fully blessed to be in His hands! (Know that if my arm reached as far as my heart does, it would be around your neck just like these sisters!) Blessings as you read....

The summer of twenty-eleven seemed different to me than others, especially in central Arkansas. Headlines reported thousands of birds tumbling from the sky into neighborhoods. Broadcasts reported scores of dead fish washing ashore along the river. National news included reports of hundreds of small earthquakes centered in a single county. Storms would seem to appear from nowhere and obliterate towns from the tornadoes they produced and the floods which followed. Extended periods of oppressive heat compared Ft. Smith, Arkansas, to Death Valley.

The summer of twenty-eleven also seemed different within the boundaries of “ordinary” within our family. We seemed to be dealing with unusual circumstances unique to any other time.

We seemed to keep one vehicle operational at a time, parking the other in the driveway until funds were available for repair. Undeniably one would stop working just as one was repaired. I walked to and from the scanty job at McDonald’s two miles away. If I needed to go any farther, arrangements were made to ride with another.

One of those summer days I had to attend to details in downtown Little Rock. I was able to locate transportation there, but I would need to wait a few hours for a ride home at the end of the day. When my business was complete, I walked around the downtown area near the Old Statehouse and the Peabody Hotel.

Noticing the dampness in my hair and on my clothing from perspiration, I realized I was standing outside the Pulaski County Courthouse, built in mid to late 1800s. While the building seemed rich with history, it also seemed rich with air-conditioning. No purchase necessary and admission was free.

After passing through security, I viewed dockets posted outside courtrooms and entered the gallery to observe the proceedings in several cases before the courts. As 4:30 approached, the court sessions adjourned, the prosecutors, defendants and attorneys went home and the security guards systematically locked and protected the building.

My ride home had not yet arrived, so I located a very small park across the street with a few benches, and decided it would be a good place to spend the remaining time.

As I sat down, I thought about the park bench which had been dedicated to my youngest sister in St. Louis. I offered a prayer and wondered if this bench, where I was resting, was somehow “related” to her bench.

While my thoughts were wandering, I saw some movement in the well-trimmed grass near a large tree. I decided it must be a leaf moving, and then noticed the air was still and without a breeze. I waited a few moments, and recognized the movement again. Curiosity got the better of me and I left the bench to get closer.

Looking down into the grass, I saw a very small squirrel. It seemed very young, only a few inches in length with its eyes slightly bulging and still closed. Only a small amount of light colored hair covered its chest, and none of it had reached its tail. The tiny one resembled a gerbil more than a squirrel.

As I watched the small and shallow breaths, and an occasional tail twitch, I wanted to pick up this tiny creature and somehow care for it. Knowing I had no experience or understanding in nurturing a squirrel, I decided to let nature take its course. I returned to my bench.

A mother’s heart is sometimes predictable in the way it cares, protects and defends everything too young and too small. Watching this small life struggle, the sadness washed over me.

I was reminded how fragile life is for some. I considered my ignorance of God’s plan, and how all life is given as a special gift. The Children’s Hospital across the way has other small and fragile life within its walls. Many of those children will be healed by God’s special graces, and others will be called to His home with His gift of mercy to guide them.

I thought of how helpless we can feel as a witness to life, knowing that all outcomes are not under our influence, but are according to His plan. And while painful to abide by, each fragile life has a purpose and a blessing if we will just open our eyes to see. We seem to become routine and procedural in our duty to procure, nurture and defend a life which is entrusted to our care. All life is extraordinary. Even the life of the tiny squirrel is extraordinary.

Reminded that God is merciful, I watched the movements of the tiny squirrel become less frequent and slow. Continuing in sadness, I helplessly monitored as the little life before me disappeared. I wondered if the sole purpose of this event was to observe and see a new perspective on a smaller scale than my own life.

More than ten minutes had passed since I noticed movement.

Another squirrel approached from the very end of the grassy area. It crossed the lawn and scurried up the large tree. A few moments later, the squirrel darted down the tree, fidgeting and frantic. It must be the mama of the tiny one in the grass. It was clear she was searching for her baby.

She was a brave mama, as she could sense I was there but continued in her search. She began separating blades of grass until she came upon her tiny one. I felt sadness that she soon would feel the ultimate loss.

I thought of Luke:

“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?” - Luke15:4(NIV)

I observed as she came upon her tiny one among the blades of grass. I wondered what she would do or think. Do squirrels think?

First, the mama struck the baby once with her front right paw. Astonished at the reaction, I thought perhaps she was ensuring that the tiny one was gone.

Then in a flash, she used both front paws and struck the baby again, a bit more forcefully. Not seeing any movement from the bench, I watched as the mama squirrel picked up the baby and flipped it over a couple times and put it back in the grass. Then she picked the baby up again, and this time held it upside down by the tail, as though to let the blood return to the tiny one’s head. She flipped it a couple of more times and laid it back in the grass.

The tiny squirrel began to flinch and move. I was sure I had just witnessed some sort of “squirrel CPR” as the mama continued her flipping ritual on her baby. More and more movement was seen from the tiny one.

Soon, mama picked up her baby, like a cat carries her kittens. She carried the tiny squirrel halfway up the tree and paused to regain her hold as the baby continued additional and extra movement.

Elated, I watched as mama climbed high in the tree and returned the baby to the nest.

For a few minutes I could not see any activity. Then I saw the mama squirrel return halfway down the tree to an outstretched branch. She then laid spread out with all four legs on either side of the branch, and her tummy and chin laying flat on the limb.

She stayed in that position for a while. I imagined she was exhausted.

The images of the events played back in my thoughts. Again, I felt every emotion. I felt a mother’s heart for the love of a child. I felt the sadness at an ultimate loss. I felt the hopefulness of searching for a lost one. I felt elation at the discovery and confirmation that a life was found and renewed. And I felt the exhaustion of completing a mission and persevering. I felt thankfulness and gratitude.

I felt confirmation of the assurance Jesus provides through His care and His inexhaustible love for all creatures. He will take care of my family, just as He takes care of the sparrows and the squirrels. There was no other explanation.

Be faithful and vigilant!

Jean, A Sister Still Here (Joanne's Sister In Arkansas

Copyright © 2011 – All rights reserved – Jean M. Leek

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