Be Alert

Be Alert

Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity.

1 Corinthians 13:12

One morning as I sat down at my computer, an e-mail subject line captured my attention: “Bear Alert in Subdivision.” My eyes widened as I opened the e-mail. Photos showed my neighbors’ steel bird feeder ripped to the ground; the metal cables dangled like kite string in their tree. Five years earlier a furry, black vandal had destroyed an identical feeder.

This copycat crime was big-time news. I updated my Facebook status: “Sue Ferguson was informed there’s been a bear in her subdivision!” Comments accumulated rapidly. Excited about the bear and the comment-catching status, I grabbed my camera, hoping for a furry photo shoot.

For several days I peered out the window and enjoyed my friends’ clever comments on my status updates. No bear came.

One afternoon, while still in watch-out-the-window mode, I noticed a skunk sleeping on our back property line. Is that really a skunk?

While on bear watch, I had seen birds, bunnies, and squirrels, but never a skunk. I snatched my camera and zoomed in for a closer look. Yep, it’s a skunk.

Thrilled, I updated my status: “Sue Ferguson never saw the neighborhood bear but has spotted a skunk sleeping at the edge of the woods!”

Not wanting to miss any developing news, I stared at my wildlife discovery. Moments later I left the window to post the following update: “Sue Ferguson is embarrassed. When that skunk woke up, it was a cat!”

—Sue Ferguson

Father, I often act foolishly because of what I think I see. I need your eyes. Help me to be alert to your prompting and to trust your eternal perspective. Amen.