On Saturday I went on an incredibly beautiful hike/walk. The views were BREATHTAKING and the sound of the waves crashing (which is my FAVORITE sound to hear) was simply CALMING.
In addition to the amazing views and sounds, God gave me another bonus in the form of one of His furry creatures, a SQUIRREL which I have so affectionately named "Stanley".
There we were, minding our own business and I spot Stanley. I approached him "in peace" in an attempt to get him in some cool pics. Well, LO AND BEHOLD, he approached ME just as peacefully. I sat down on a nearby bench and he made is way right over. At times he was UNDER the bench, other times ON the back of the bench and even NEXT TO ME as I sat on the bench. HOW COOL!!!
I knew that I wanted to hang out with this little guy for a while and I remembered that I still had some trail mix left. So I get it out of my bag and start dropping pieces on the ground. Stanley went for it! As soon as he finished, he'd look at me with that sweet lil' squirrel face as if asking for more. So...I gave him more. He and I were having such a good time together that at one point, he hopped up on me. It happened so unexpectedly and he was only there for a second.
Contrary to what most would like to believe, I don't believe he hopped up to harm me, because if he had wanted to then surely he would have. I instead, choose to believe that in me, he simply found a friend.
Well, I was so excited about our encounter, I posted about it on Facebook. It's kinda funny how you start out with the intention of something going ONE WAY and it turns out going in a completely different direction. Yeah, that's pretty much what happened.
Instead of folks just enjoying my sweet experience with Stanley, I was instead deluged with warnings of how he could've had rabies and how I could've gotten rabies, and how even worse than the danger that Stanley may have caused me, I may have actually caused Stanley more harm...
WOW!
I hadn't expected all that.
Although I am thankful for folks being concerned about my well being, and was a little taken back by the fact that anyone would EVER think that I would cause harm to an animal (I LOVE ANIMALS!), I realized that the world I live in is a bit different from the rest.
Call me naive. Maybe I'm living in a bubble. But NEVER ONCE during my encounter with Stanley, did I ever have fear of him or any disease that he may have been carrying. Nor did it ever dawn on me that I was causing him harm. He and I were simply "in the moment". And my crazy, nature loving self, actually believes that God gave us that moment. Maybe Stanley needed a friendly face, voice and hand to feed him. And maybe I needed a furry friend to show me the kindness of nature. Whatever it was, is what it was and I am so thankful that none of the "concerns" ever entered my mind as I was out there with him. Because had they entered my mind and caused me to fear, the whole experience would have been RUINED.
So...the moral of this story is this: FEAR will rob me of so many beautiful experiences that life wants to offer me. So I choose not to live IN or WITH fear. That's just me.
If I'm out on a hike one day and get attacked by a mountain lion, so be it. Mind you, I have sense enough to NEVER walk up to a mountain lion, but if it happens, it happens. Maybe a rattlesnake will jump out and bite me one day. Who knows? Anything is possible. If it happens, it happens. We could go on ALL DAY with "what ifs". But why? That's such a waste. I guess the bottom line is this...the worse thing that can ever happen to me is DEATH. However, as a believer in Christ, death ain't so bad. Because death here on earth for me, means ETERNAL LIFE WITH HIM next. So for me, it's ok.
I live with peace. I live in peace. And I have NO FEAR.
Let the DIALOGUE begin: What's the "wildest" creature you've ever come across? Did you stop and spend time with it, or did you "keep it movin'"?
Talk to me!
Til next time...
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