Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.
Proverbs 3:5
For the last few months I, along with my walking buddies, have admired a pair of Canadian geese who reside next to our rural road. The pair of love birds took time preparing their nest. Even weeks to make sure everything was just so. Finally, in April we found her sitting. It was time to lay eggs and incubate them for about a month.
It’s an odd place to call home for a goose. Either side of our road there is a marshy area about a short, city block long. It’s not overly wide. Tuffs of marsh grass speckle the water. It’s not the best place to raise a family.
Yet, year-after-year a pair of geese come to call it ‘home’ for the spring. This pair may be together as long as 10-24 years. If my memory serves me correctly, this is the fourth year of their return.
Mr. Goose, let’s call him George, causes all sorts of problems as he stands-watch on the shoulder of the road. He’s a quiet guy, for a goose, never honks at anyone passing by. Spending most of his day marching up and down to protect his mate, Georgia, who sits diligently on her nest of twigs and pine needles. Sleet, rain or snow she endures it all waiting for hatching day.
As goslings have been hatched weeks ago, in other pond areas, George was still waiting for his new family to emerge. Just a few days ago, in my back pond, five little goslings waddled about. Momma at the front of the line and Papa bringing up the back. They are adorable to watch.
I’m sad to say George and Georgia left a full nest behind. Five large unhatched eggs lay mound in the same manner as the first day they had been laid. Were they not fertile, had they somehow spoiled or had they been disturbed by a predator?
For George and Georgia the path was clear, it was time to go.
God cares about even a pair of geese. Geese work from instinct. People, on the other hand, are able to make choices from the information they have retained. Or from their experience of having trusted God. People can decipher how to move forward. The best way I know how to emerge from a trial is to read the Word. Also, to spend time in prayer with God.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart.
Patti Wolf 