That face in the tree belongs to my
nominee for Mother-of-the-Year this year.
I saw her in action a day or two ago in
a driving rainstorm, the kind that had water pounding our outside
deck and left me pondering an unpleasant drive to work. As I filled
my travel coffee mug before leaving the house, I heard an unusual
chiiirrping noise coming from outside. Unable to identify it,
I assumed it had to be a squirrel scolding the storm clouds that were
bringing the bad weather. Peeking out the window to see if I could
spot it, I saw instead a sight that kept my eyes locked on the
activity outside and made me almost late to hit the time clock at
work.
A raccoon had been snoozing in a hole
in the tree that grows through our deck for days, much to the
annoyance of our beagle, who circled below it in endless tight
circles, howling for all he was worth and biting at the bark of the
tree in frustration that he couldn't get his teeth on the animal safe
up above. Certain the constant commotion would soon move it along,
we'd watch it wander away each dusk only to spot it once again
sleeping the morning away come break of day. My husband even
considered boarding up the hole to hasten its search for other living
quarters. We were getting a little desperate for the return of the
peaceful days and quiet nights we had once enjoyed.
All that changed in the torrential rain
the other morning. Instead of the squirrel I was expecting when I
looked out the window, I saw the raccoon, not sleeping this time but
climbing up to the hole in the pouring rain with a furry bundle of
baby in her mouth! She reached the hole, chucked it in, and
then turned around to come back down! Wondering what on earth she was
doing, I looked farther down the tree and saw yet another tiny form
trying to work its way up! Raccoon babies! Somehow they must
have fallen out of that hollow in the tree, hollered for help, and
brought their mother running to the rescue!
The second mission was not a smooth
operation. The baby's tiny claws were gripping the tree for all it
was worth, forcing the mother to rip them loose with a quick yank of
her head once she had a hold on him, one she almost lost a time or
two in her struggle to reach the hole with her mouthful of wriggling
fur. Once both babies were safely deposited inside, I went on to my
shift at work, replaying the action in my mind for the rest of the
day.
Just as dusk was turning into dark at
the end of the day, the dogs were out and had again spotted Mama Coon
at the mouth of the hole. I, too, looked up and saw her blocking the
entrance, a few bundles of fur moving around behind her, one
inquisitive face peeking over her shoulder. The babies were getting
active and soon would be ready to get out and explore on their own.
Behind that mother's black mask lay a hero's heart, but I think she
knew her time as guardian of her own particular galaxy was coming to
an end.
May is a tough month for mothers,
weather conditions aside. Upcoming graduations signal a season of
young who are ready to leave the nest. The celebration of motherhood
early on in the month comes at a price much higher than the cost of
the flowers and gifts received. Somehow the moms among us are
expected to let their offspring leave to make their own way in the
world, knowing better than they the dangers that lurk beyond the
safety of the home they've made, and the enemies waiting outside for
a misstep on untested ground. A fall could be fatal.
Some of you know what that's like.
You've seen your children leave only to be called upon to retrieve
them from one disaster after another, ripping them loose from the
false security they cling to and hauling them back up to safer
ground, carrying them physically for a time, perhaps, because you do
so forever in your heart. The month of May may end, but your
motherhood mask never comes off, so how do you deal with the weight
of the worry that comes with the task?
What a relief it is to realize we can
pray!
In an effort to protect those furry
babies in the tree, we started putting a leash on our beagle when we
let him outside. Knowing him to be a slippery little hound, hard to
catch when he's hot on a scent, if he ever got too close to Mama
Raccoon or her babies we could just step on the end of the leash to
corral him and haul him back inside. In similar fashion our prayers
put the devil on a leash! He can go only so far and no
farther; spiritually we can rein him in. God's gift is the peace
you receive when you transfer your treasures from your hands to
His...trusting Him to do all that you cannot, to safeguard and heal
and restore as needed.
Oh, you may still be asked to do your
part occasionally. My husband was working in the kitchen the other
day and heard a “plop” on the wood planks of the deck outside.
Looking out he saw that a baby raccoon had fallen out of the nest
once more. The dogs barked furiously at the mother's subsequent
rescue mission, but they were kept at bay by the window glass that
separated them from her. And that's the best Mother's Day gift of
all...the security in knowing that God has put a barrier between the
ones you love and those who threaten them, a bulwark those enemies
can't breach; your babies are safe from their reach.
If you ever doubt that He can do so,
remember that God Himself climbed a tree years ago to get all His
kids safely Home.
“For God did not send
his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world
through Him might be saved.”
(John 3:17 NKJV)
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