Lessons from Nature #2
I was in my office when one of our church members came in from the outside through the door down the hall. And it was mere seconds … seconds … before she gave out a shrill yelp. I figured she saw a mess, a spilled Kool-Aid, or new crayon marks on the recently cleaned table tops. But no … it was so much funnier.
I slowly made my way to hear rustling, for the yelp gave way to rapid and loud breathing … as well as moving of chairs and more. Upon my entry into the room, I saw her with a pool noodle in her hand hunting below the tables and chairs. A giant spider! No. A lizard? Not at all … it was so much funnier.
Then she said it. A Squirrel had gotten into the church. It scampered into the restrooms (so the human guest said.) So I got a broom and ventured in … seeking the deadly and furry predator hiding within.
But it was empty. I looked nearby; and still, empty. We propped the outside door open (giving the monstrous killer a free escape path) … we turned a table on its side to block the stairwell … and I made sure her pool noodle was ready and loaded.
Still … no squirrel.
So I went back to my desk and waited for it to reveal itself.
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In the previous hour before this, I went outside to see if the bees were still buzzing the bush. (See yesterday’s post). I was out there and saw a squirrel – same one? who knows? – climbing the brick wall. Did he dash past me as I took the bees’ photos? Did the acorn stasher sneak into the door with my back turned? Or did he come in earlier when the playground door was open? We may never know. I do know they get into the attic regularly, but how he got in wasn’t the issue – how we get him out is the test.
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So, I went back to my desk … I left the heroine and her mighty pool noodle alone … she yells for me that she has the fuzzy rodent trapped in the kitchen. She saw it on the ice maker and heard it jumping all around.
I went to the outside door to the kitchen and unlocked and opened it. I entered the battle field and quickly grabbed a weapon from the armor leaning against the wall – a powerful, and nimble, tool that would not just protect, but guide the four-legged creature out of the domain.
I saw him (Her? They?) and we danced. We dodged, we side-stepped, we pranced … and with nary a swing of my trusty broom (the weapon of choice) – I directed the squirrel out.
The adventure came to an end. Our heroine pokes her head in the door and had the pool noodle in front of her. But she quickly retired her weapon and went back to what she came to do … arrange flowers.
What lessons from the squirrel can we glean …
- Squirrels are very instinctive when it comes to avoiding conflict … a lesson humans could benefit from
- Squirrels have internal risk assessment as they ponder danger vs need for food; maybe we too could learn on acting wisely, not just by instinct to our desires
- Squirrels are curious … but in this case, the curiosity of what’s inside the door caused too much problems for us and for him
Squirrels assess risks, are instinctively cautious but also curious … maybe we too can be wiser if we balance curiosity and caution,
Above all of the above, my mind keeps going back to a classic narrative in church history. It is one of the great revivals that took place in the great state of Mississippi … Ray Stevens tells us about it in this classic work of art …
Mississippi Squirrel Revival
Song by Ray Stevens
Well, when I was a kid, I’d take a trip every summer
Down to Mississippi to visit my granny in her Antebellum world
I’d run barefooted all day long
Climbing trees free as a song
One day, I happened to catch myself a squirrel
Well, I stuffed him down in an old shoebox and
Punched a couple holes in the top
When Sunday came, I snuck him into church
I was sittin’ way back in the very last pew
Showin’ him to my good buddy Hugh
When that squirrel got loose, went totally berserk
Well, what happened next is hard to tell
Some thought it was Heaven, others thought it was Hell
But the fact that somethin’ was among us was plain to see
As the choir sang, “I surrender all”
Squirrel ran up Harv Newlan’s coveralls
And Harv leaped to his feet and said, “Somethin’s got a hold on me! Yeah-ow!”
The day the squirrel went berserk
In the First Self-Righteous Church
In that sleepy little town of Pascagoula (Pascagoula)
It was a fight for survival that broke out in revival
They were jumpin’ pews and shouting Hallelujah! (Hallelujah!)
Well, Harv hit the aisles dancin’ and screamin’
Some thought he had religion, others thought he had a demon
And Harv thought he had a weed eater loose in his Fruit-Of-The-Looms
He fell to his knees to plead and beg
And that squirrel ran out of his britches leg
Unobserved, to the other side of the room
All the way down to the amen pew, where sat Sister Bertha better-than-you
Who’d been watchin’ all the commotion with sadistic glee
You should’ve seen that look in her eyes
When that squirrel jumped her garters and crossed her thighs
She jumped to her feet, said, “Lord have mercy on me”
As that squirrel made laps inside her dress
She began to cry and then to confess to sins, would make a sailor blush with shame
She told of gossip and church dissension, but the thing that got the most attention’s
When she talked about her love life
And then she started naming names
The day the squirrel went berserk
In the First Self-Righteous Church
In that sleepy little town of Pascagoula (Pascagoula)
It was a fight for survival that had broke out in revival
They were jumpin’ pews and shouting Hallelujah! (Hallelujah!)
Seven deacons and the pastor got saved
And twenty-five thousand dollars was raised
And 50 volunteered for missions in the Congo on the spot
And even without an invitation, there were at least five hundred rededications
And we all got rebaptized, whether we needed it or not
Now you’ve heard the Bible story, I guess
How He parted the waters for Moses to pass
All the miracles God has brought in this old world
But the one I’ll remember ’til my dyin’ day
Is how he put that church back on the narrow way with a half-crazed Mississippi squirrel
The day the squirrel went berserk
In the First Self-Righteous Church
In that sleepy little town of Pascagoula (Pascagoula)
It was a fight for survival that had broke out in revival
They were jumpin’ pews and shouting Hallelujah! (Hallelujah!)
The day the squirrel went berserk
In the First Self-Righteous Church
In that sleepy little town of Pascagoula (Pascagoula)
It was a fight for survival that had broke out in revival
They were jumpin’ pews and shouting Hallelujah!
Click HERE to see the song on YouTube
Have a great day.
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