We have this plastic owl (Grumpy Gus) nailed to our fence and he has been sitting there for many years. He's a fierce looking fellow, with wide eyes and semi puffed feathers.. The idea of placing "Gus" there was to scare off critters....supposedly, squirrels!!
Well friends.....meet Exhibit A.
Zippy the Squirrel
This brave squirrel not only ignored our mighty owl, but he even cozied right up underneath his tail. If you look closely, you can see "Zippy" all stretched out and just soaking up the sun. I think it is safe to say that he is not at all intimidated by our plastic owl.
When Sam sent me this photo, I could clearly see a good lesson in this. So many things in life are just like ol' Gus! They do look intimidating from a distance and they are designed to scare us!! But, if we lean in a little closer, we realize they are Hollow and powerless.
What are the "Owls" we face in life?
Looming Deadlines, Intimidating task, doctor appointments, Financial stress, Conflict or confrontation, Waiting for test results, self doubt, Aging and all the changes that come with it, Trying to Please everyone, The unknown......etc, etc, etc.
The enemy.....the devil, loves to perch fake owls on the fencepost in our lives, just hoping that we will cower beneath them. We know he is a liar! He wants us to believe that these problems will defeat us. He wants to intimidate us into giving up and backing down.
BUT...he forgets who we are and Whose we are!!!!!
I praise God that we can be just like this brave little squirrel. We can stretch ourselves out in peace, knowing the ONE who gives us strength, has already declared victory over fear. The owl may look scary, but it's got NO real power.
Isn't this little squirrel the cutest? He's just out there living his best life.....tail tucked up under a plastic owl and not a care in the world.
Hope you all have a "Brave-as-a-squirrel" kind of day!! lol.
Shug.
💜💜 I'm behind on my reading and commenting, but I plan to get caught up today...
Great post! Yes, that squirrel is a great role model. ❤️
ReplyDeleteI have a robin that for the past 3 years has picked a corner up in the ceiling of my front porch to build its nest. Now I don't mind Robbins and I love seeing their nests but not when it's in the corner of my front porch pooping on my furniture. So for the past 3 years that Robin and I have been battling it out. I tear the nest out and the next day it's back so I tear it down again and the next day it's back. I have an owl like yours and this year I took the head off of it and was able to wedge it up in the corner of the porch ceiling. I wish I would have seen the robin when it came back to build it's nest because since that head's been there I haven't had a problem.
ReplyDeleteI love this photo because I like squirrels. We have many around here. And what a wonderful lesson you turned this into! Goodness, I may have to start naming the squirrels now. But I would not be able to tell one from the other!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Shug for this excellent article. What a wonderful lesson for today's world with all its fears and doubts and negative thoughts. Praying for you and your family. God bless you all.
ReplyDeleteWell done, squirrel - an example to us all!
ReplyDeleteThis post came at a perfect time for me. I've had the proverbial owl staring at me a lot recently and this is an excellent reminder. You sure know how to put things into the right prospective. Thanks for sharing this.
ReplyDeleteThe pictures are so cute! The message is one I need to hear over and over again!
ReplyDeleteI have not posted about it yet, will try to get on done after the MIRACLE neuroligist appt that happened while the FAKE OWL of waiting 3 months to see a neurologist. I get this owl thing perfectly... Bob sees a neuro PA today instead of Aug 20th, its been 2 months since he got home from hospital ... post later today
ReplyDeleteThis is an excellent post. I don't think scarecrows work, either!
ReplyDeleteOh, what a great story! I love this so much! Although I am not that fond of squirrels as they love to raid the bird feeders and drive the bluebirds and other birds crazy. I think in real life I like the owls better. But in the figurative sense as you have written, yes, sometimes those big old "owls" in our lives are quite formidable and we waste a lot of energy over fretting about them, only to find out they are hollow and powerless, thanks to our Savior Jesus Christ, who has already conquered our enemies. We just need to have faith to believe it!! Yes, the older we get, the more owls creep into our minds and disturb our peace. Praise God for His peace that passes all understanding and defeat the owls. Great story today. Thank you.
ReplyDelete*haha* The term "if you can't beat em, join em" comes to mind when I see that little squirrel having made friends with Grumpy Gus. We all should make friends so easily. As you & I did, Shug! Love, Andrea xoxo
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love this, Shug and you nailed it. I have a plastic owl as well, on my back fence for really no good reason other than I like owls and wish I had a real one in my yard.
ReplyDeleteShug, what a lovely post! Zippy is adorable, brave and resilient! A great example as to how we should be! I do love squirrels. They are agile, intelligent and fast! Thank you so much for sharing this story!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely loved your analogy here today, Shug! I do love squirrels and watching their antics in our yard. Zippy sure made me smile. Blessings!
ReplyDeleteYou have the most amazing analogies, my friend! This was a timely post for me today. Thanks so much.
ReplyDeleteA very special message - thank you
ReplyDeleteA wonderful message told with a cute squirrel. Those are my favorite kind. Oh and we have one of those faux hawks perched on our fence, too. His job is to keep the birds from our pool, but those birdies sit right on his head. Oh boy!
ReplyDeleteWhat a splendid analogy! I'm so glad Zippy exhibited the same sort of faith that God asks of us. Chin up and hang on !
ReplyDeleteI love squirrels and think they are so cute - as long as they stay out of my house! We had those owls to keep woodpeckers away.
ReplyDeleteShug, I love this lesson! And it's so true. The enemy is perched around every corner trying to steal our faith and our joy. We have to keep our eyes on the Lord and learn to recognize the counterfeit "owls" perched here and there. Thanks for this great reminder.
ReplyDeleteGood word, Shug.
ReplyDelete