Thoughtful Decimation

I like to get up early, before the sun comes up, pour a cup of hot coffee, put sweet creamer in it, and head for the back porch. It's my quiet time before the day breaks loose with its callings. This morning, as I sat watching the sky take shape, a young squirrel climbed up the screen covering the pool area and ran up to the roof top. The squirrels often climb the screens, and I am always amazed at their nimble ability to do so without tearing them. However, the squirrels who preserve my screens so delicately, are the same pesky, little creatures (I say that affectionately) that decided two autumns ago to decimate the end caps of my gutters by ripping and chewing them to shreds to attain acorns they could easily reach from the open gutter. Darren had a sheet of copper in the garage he cut into new end caps, and the problem was solved, but the question still lingers. Why did they do that when it was absolutely unnecessary? For those of you who have read previous blogs, can you feel a shift from squirrels to people coming your way?

I use the word decimate because the connotation is strong, and that is exactly what the squirrels did to my end caps, but does that word fit anything in your life? I know I have decimated things in my life with thoughtless abandon only to come back later in the throes of brutal consequences to ask myself, why did I do that. It's a very human quality, and squirrel, but wonderfully, the same grace that keeps me feeding the squirrels after their episodes of destruction, keeps God feeding us after every episode of unnecessary decimation in our life, and (this is the really great part) God, after the simple act of heartfelt request, continually wipes our slates clean. The only tally sheet running is the guilt tally sheet that we choose to keep out of some hidden, aberrant disrespect for ourselves. The presence of grace for every new moment is remarkable! However, I believe thoughtless decimation cannot be part of our lives if we want to feel the grace. It blocks the connection. I am sure that if the squirrels had eaten the copper end caps, too, I might not be feeding them right now. I'd still love them as creatures of the earth, but I wouldn't offer them food. I would leave them to their own devices.

One way to begin the art of becoming a thoughtful "decimater" since all decimation is not bad, some things must be demolished to start anew, is to begin by building up ourselves and each other. If that is a habitual pattern, it's a simple step. If not, it will take at least thirty days of constant attention, to make edification a routine in your life.



Therefore, encourage one another and build up each other. I Thessalonians 4:11a puts it in a positive light, and another very practical way of saying it comes from 1 Corinthians 11:16 which reads, "But if anyone is disposed to be contentious-we have no such custom, nor do the churches of God."

Find joy in this day. Love, Linda