People often ask me how I get my blog post ideas. My answer is always, “God gives them to me.” Sometimes he blesses me with deep insights through sermons or devotionals, etc. And then there are the times when he takes the most mundane, ordinary occurrences to drop an idea into my head.
Thus was the case for this week’s topic.
I was on the way to Maisy’s Daycamp one recent morning when I could see a squirrel up ahead clearing the two-line street I was on. He was in the median and calculating his chances of surviving the next two lanes.
I thought the cars were clearly at a safe distance and would have encouraged him to go for it. And that’s exactly what I thought he would do. I relaxed a bit because I didn’t have to worry about maiming one of God’s creatures.
Alas, in a blink of an eye, as I was nearing this little guy, he obviously made a last-second decision to make a U-turn and head back over into my two lanes. Right into the path of my car.
All of this happened in about a one-second moment where I quickly asked God to protect him from my tires, and I might have closed my eyes …
To my great relief, he somehow missed all four wheels and made it back to the far side of the lanes and into someone’s backyard. Whew! Survived to live another day. The squirrel, too!
That’s right – I cringe at the very idea of hitting an animal in the road. If you know me, or have read just a few of my posts, you know that I have an incredibly soft heart for animals. And they don’t have to be domesticated animals. Oh no, I want no animal to ever suffer. Certainly not by my car’s tires.
Despite spending 27 years living in the country, much of that through wooded areas, I have never hit or run over an animal of any size. Isn’t that an incredible statistic?
So when I didn’t hear or feel the dreaded bump, I opened up my eyes and said a quick prayer of gratitude to God for allowing Mr. Squirrel to live another day.
Do I think that’s just luck or coincidence? I do not.
Now I can’t say this with 100% certainty, but I do believe God is so personally connected with each of us (after all, he did create us) that he orchestrates these seemingly innocuous details of our lives. I’m convinced that he knows this animal-loving heart of mine and has spared me the anguish of killing one of his furry critters throughout all my decades of driving.
Whether or not it’s true, whether or not you agree with me, don’t you still love that idea? I sure do. Wouldn’t it be just like God? I believe it’s one of the millions of ways he permeates our lives with his goodness and his love for us.
While this particular incident clearly got my attention, in part because it stopped my heart for a beat or two, I couldn’t help but wonder how many other tiny, but powerful, acts of intervention God ordains throughout all my days. How many of these compassionate acts do I miss on a daily basis?
Probably hundreds!
I realize not everyone sees God as deeply connected to our comings and goings here on earth, but I bet you’d be amazed if you spent a day or two deliberately watching for them. It might give you a brand-new appreciation for our loving Father. I think I might just try that little experiment myself over the next few days.
May it be one more way that we are reminded to be grateful to God for his loving care over us – and his furry creation.
Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Psalm 37:4
I enjoy your posts so much Lynne. I feel the same way about God’s creatures. Never would want to hit them. God gave them to us to enjoy.
Hey Nancy, WordPress is not letting me know when I get comments so I’m just now seeing this! So sorry I didn’t reply earlier. But I agree, we animal lovers just might be extra protected by God!