Squirrelly Business!
As we were pulling out of the garage this week, I looked straight out to the street area and saw a captivating sight. One, from our family of gray squirrels, was perched and relaxing upon the fire hydrant that sits between our property and that of a neighbor’s who just happens to be a firefighter! I loved the humor in this and wanted to send him the picture that I took with a caption regarding the legality of what I was seeing.
Is this legal? |
Illinois
law is specific about fire plugs and parking. You cannot block a hydrant or
park a vehicle any closer than fifteen feet in any direction. This is for
obvious safety reasons. Firefighters must have access to these “Johnny Pumps”
during emergencies. (If you doubt the use of this Yankee synonym for hydrant,
just look it up!). I wanted to ask my firefighter neighbor about the squirrel,
“Is this legal?”
I’m always curious about why the neighborhood squirrels like to get up a little
higher while they’re nibbling on the acorns from my oak tree in the backyard. Daily,
I look out the kitchen window and see them on the fence, the flower box, and I even
caught them one day “hiding” a corn cob on the top of one of the overgrown shrubs
that line the front of the house. What is all this about? I know the answer. It
makes them feel taller!
I recently
went to my wellness appointment at the doctor. As a routine exercise, they record
your weight, height, and blood pressure. After I had weighed, the nurse had me
stand straight with my rounded shoulders as straight as I could. Before telling
me her findings, she caught me a little off guard with the question, “How tall
are you?” I answered, “Not as much as back in the day!” Truth is… I am losing
ground on my height. It has gone down from 5 feet 10.5 inches to 10 to 9.5 and
now, to 9. My dad was 5’8’’ and my nearest brother was 5’6’’. What did I
expect? It is what it is!!
In Bible
days, King Saul of Israel was characterized as standing “head and shoulders” above
the average height of an Israelite man. (1 Samuel 9:2). Some scholars have estimated
that Saul was close to seven feet in height. Yet, his nemesis, Goliath, the
Philistine of Gath, and an enemy of Israel, was even taller and much stronger. Goliath
was a giant of a man with an estimated height of nine feet, nine inches or “six
cubits and a span” according to Scripture. (1 Samuel 17:4, KJV).
One day,
Goliath provoked an engagement to battle with Israel. He taunted the Israelites
camped in the Valley of Elah, “Give me a man, and let us fight each other.” (17:10,
NIV). When David, the youngest son of Jesse, heard this, he inquired, “Who
is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living
God?” (v.26)
Then this youthful and teenaged shepherd boy did the unthinkable. He volunteered himself to face the giant! Upon
sizing up David, Goliath disrespected him and said, “What am I a dog, that you
come to me with sticks? And the Philistine cursed David by his gods.” (v.43). While
King Saul and the “Israelites were dismayed and terrified,” (v.11) at the sight
of Goliath, David said to him, “You come to me with a sword and spear, and javelin,
but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies
of Israel, whom you have defied. This day, the Lord will hand you over to me…”
(v.46). And so, David prevailed over the giant that day!
There is a
popular worship song on Christian radio today. We regularly sing it at our contemporary
worship service, and I know that it is a blessing for other believers at many
church services as well. It’s entitled, Same God, (Brandon Lake,
2022) and affirms the truth about how we serve the “same God” as David when we read
the stirring story of his victory long ago over giant Goliath. There is one
memorable line for me in that emotive song that declares, “I may not face Goliath,
but I have my own giants.”
Then the chorus and
bridge connect our struggles with this story in a powerful, confessional way,
as we sing out, “O God, my God, I need You now. How I need you now… You heard
Your children then, You hear your children now… You moved in power then, You
move in power now… You are the same God, You are the same God!”
This Bible story reminds
us that David didn’t need to stretch himself or get up on a high spot to seem
taller in God’s eyes. He just knew the greatness of our God and in simple faith
trusted Him to deliver him and the people of Israel back then in that situation.
Let’s remember, He is the same God for us… yesterday, today, and forever!
Mike Keppler, retired pastor,
Thank goodness he is, as I lean on him heavily,.
ReplyDeleteAmen! We all lean on Him!
ReplyDelete