We didn't know about the woodpecker when we bought this house. We knew we were out in a more country setting and nature would be more plentiful than in the city. Yet, we never contemplated the woodpecker! How did we discover the woodpecker? We were inside the house minding our own business when there was a machine gun pecking at our chimney pipe that resonated down into our family room stove! Rat a tat a tat over and over for what seemed like hours. I finally banged on the stove pipe when the next pecking began. The bird went away for a few days. That's the way it's been for the last two years. He's not around during the winter but returns to his love affair with our metal stove pipe in the spring. I certainly don't understand why he has chosen our stove pipe other than it's round and black. Today he is back. Never mind that we are surrounded with trees that bear much fruit of his liking. He always comes back to the stove pipe. Christians are a lot like that as well. We seem to constantly return to that which is annoying to God thinking it's the real deal. All the time we are settling for something that doesn't give us nourishment and certainly is hard on our bodies, minds and spirits much like the bill of the woodpecker.
The moles, which were silent during winter, have also begun pushing up their mounds in my green lawn. The moles are more like a destructive pest taking the beauty of my lawns to a landmine of mounds of dirt under which are their hollow tunnels. The tunnels are just deep enough for their travel and for my foot to go into when I step on them. I'm sure that moles have a purpose and that's why God created them. However, God and I will need to have a discussion about moles and mosquitos when I get to heaven. I've tried trapping, gassing them and poison to bring an end to their existence on my property. Where do they come from! They come from the neighbors where they are left alone to multiply. Then Junior and his girlfriend(s) move to the house next door and set up their home in the highway of tunnels left by the previous families. It's a constant battle that I'll not win in the space of my lifetime. I'm sure that I'll find some new mounds today. This reminds me of another aspect of my relationship with God. I have, as you have, free choice to let whomever and whatever into our lives as we wish. Do I allow those God wants or do I allow those my sinful nature allows. Do I want to feel comfortable with man or God is the real question. Eliminating those who are destructive in my life with God seems like an impossible task some days. Walking away from bad influences is good for our relationship with God. Tell that to those moles in your life!
Another curious creature on the property are the ants that are referred to as Ft Lewis ants because of close by Ft. Lewis where they were first reported. These ants build huge mounds of needles and other forest debris under different conifers. The ants are supposedly trying to eliminate those elements that might be destructive to the tree and the surrounding forest. Sometimes these mounds are 3-4 feet tall and can be 4-6 feet across. We are not talking about sugar ants that come in through your back door. These ants swarm for yards around their mound and literally can be like the earth moving. Quite innocent pests except to those who want to use the land for a different purpose. These mounds are only half of the picture. The ant "home" is built deep into the earth sometimes reported to be many feet below the surface like some ice berg! So the home can be up to 6 feet wide and 10 feet from top to bottom. What you see is only a portion of what your get. These ants seem to reflect the depth of our pile of secret sin. We go out from the home into the world and bring back the sin that is there. Buried deep others don't see them but you know they are there. When these sins are amongst the sins of others and in such a condensed mass, we are certainly not set apart for the Lord or his work.
Whether you have woodpeckers, miles or ants as described above, you have elements of your life that are no different than theirs. Remember that they are always your choice.
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