P-H-I-L-O-H-E-L-A M-I-N-O-R, I spelled the words so carefully at the top of my newly turned page and re-read it : Philohela Minor. Otherwise and more normally known as the common woodcock. It was a new bird that I had spotted that early summers morning while I jogged my way through a near by forest preserve. I loved my time spent here at the preserve for it afforded me with many wonderful things all at the same time. My favorite part of my morning trips were that I was able to have some quite moments to think, pray, and ponder important issues of life while being out in nature and enjoying God’s beautiful creation. Learning from nature and soaking in creation has almost become a hobby of mine. So, you can easily see how these trips to the preserve were priceless and almost monumental in my daily routine. Plus, I also got a good physical work out by walking, jogging or biking down the curvy and often very hilly paths so that was an added bonus.
I had always been taught to watch and learn from the possible character traits that were hidden around me in nature. So, since I had paused to tie my shoe I automatically paused to watch this little woodcock and her young for a while to see if there was anything that I might learn from them.
After a while, it became apparent that the mother was attempting to feed her young but she seemed to keep finding only sticks and stones instead of nice worms and bugs for them. As more time passed the woodcock begain to do some very interesting things. Such as deliberately flattening herself out on the ground, Next, she spread out her wings. In this position, she beat the ground by rapidly flapping them against the earth, Then she stopped for a moment, listening intently before resuming her unusual effort.
In a short time the woodcock family was enjoying its long-awaited meal. Each young chick was busily finding worms along the parched surface in the very place where their earlier efforts had been fruitless. What made the difference?
Earthworms instinctively know that if they are deep within the ground when a hard rain falls, they will drown unless they can quickly get to the surface for air, Because of this danger, the body of the worm is very sensitive to the vibrations from the surface. When the woodcock rapidly flutters its wings from above, the beating sounds like rain drops to the worms and they burrow upward toward the surface. As the worms come within reach, the woodcock pierces the ground with its bill and pulls them out.
I noticed how responsible this mother was with her little ones and I pondered if the young woodcocks would observe the important aspect of responsibility by the example of their mother using all her energies to fulfill the needs of her young. This made me question myself as I asked the question of am I responsible or not. Do I know and do what God and others are expecting from me? My dear Christain, I ask you the same of you, are you responsible? Do you do know and do what God and others are expecting from you? Or are you unreliable. Do you recognize what needs doing before your asked to do it, or do you go about your own way and ignore what the Lord has called you to do?
“For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living. But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brother's way.”
Romans 14:8-13
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