4/22/2005

to the trees!

Have you ever watched squirrels scramble through trees? If not, I suggest going to a park to sit and watch them for a few minutes (hint: most any college campus is certain to teem with an abundance of the little varmint) I was sitting on the stump of a tree on campus the other day, feeling a little like Rip Van Winkle, with the intention of reading a little for class, and as I looked up from the book, I noticed two squirrels playing with one another in a nearby tree. I have noticed that squirrels often come in pairs; as I watched the pair playing in the tree, I began to notice an intricate detail of the game in which they played. When squirrels play, it seems like they play one very long game of tree-tag. I watched as the two creatures faced off, vertical on the tree, one facing downwards, the other facing upwards, and they stood perfectly still, looking intently at each other, appearing to study one another. Suddenly, the squirrel on top began to run and hide behind a limb, as the other remained motionless. The hiding squirrel, which we will call squirrel #1, peeked around the limb at squirrel #2, which again remained motionless. Squirrel #1 proceeded to perform a figure 8 on the tree, crossing branches and returning to his post behind the limb, again poking its head at squirrel #2, which was unimpressed by the gravity-defying feat and remained unmoved, yet its gaze remained intently on his companion. However, a moment came when squirrel #1 moved a few inches around the limb towards squirrel #2, and at that moment, squirrel #2 shot towards squirrel #1 in determined pursuit, and they raced around the trunk, beginning their endless game.
Likewise, we are similar in our relationship with the Lord. Like squirrel #2, His gaze is eternally fixed upon us, waiting for us to seek him. We can run around as fast as we can and perform seemingly miraculous tasks, but we are only running in circles until our gaze is not likewise fixed on the goal and we are running toward Him. However, if we move from our hiding places and present ourselves before the Lord, in honest pursuit of Him, He is faithful to always pursuit us, never removing His gaze upon us, and never relinquishing His will to be intimately involved with us and join us in the journey as our companion and paraclete.
My friend Maggie once explained a writer's theory of the pursuit of God (Please forgive me that I have forgotten the name of the author). She explained that our pursuit of God and His Holiness, is like that of a child's pursuit of it parent in a game of tag; a child chases after the parent and can never really run as fast as the parent, so at last, the parent embraces the child and takes them in their arms, and at this point, the pursuer becomes the pursuee. God wants an intimate relationship with us; he wants us to pursue Him as He is pursuing us. Like the squirrel, as His eyes are eternally fixed upon us, He is patiently waiting for us to return to Him, perhaps for the first time, and to stop running in circles and take a step of faith toward Him and His intense and focused gaze on us.

3 comments:

Holly said...

Great post Erika! I am here via Maurice also! I got a kick out of your squirl story! My campus has a great abundance of them as well! But I also loved how you connected it to our relationship with God! It is a beautiful thing how we can find ourselves lost and longing for something wonderful, when God is right there watching over us. Wanting to take us in His arms! :)

Thomas Winborn said...

Great post Erika.

Trigun said...

Funny story, EK. It's very true. All I can say is, "Only you.." All this talk about squirrels got me hungry. Peace.