Serve by Design

When I was a boy, I spent my summers building forts in a locust tree grove. The setting was just across the street from where I lived on an uncleared vacant lot. I never knew or even thought about who owned the property, but I have a feeling that the lot owner was grateful for the industriousness of the neighborhood boys. After all, we were saving him the trouble and cost of clearing out those thorny little trees! 😊 We used our imaginations every time we went to work. Usually, we were building a small community of shelters with a barrier or fence around it for protection. We pretended to be a party of hardy explorers setting up camp and building defense structures to protect it against any enemies, real or imagined! Hours of work sawing, knife scraping, trimming, and rope tying were invested in the project each day. We did not care how hot it was or how much we sweated! In our minds, we were adventurers creating a new world! At the end of the day, we would bathe, eat dinner, and ret...

Recently, I read about a Peacock problem in Omaha, Nebraska. This caught my attention because we have a couple of close friends who live up there. The news was surprising to me since we made two trips there last year and didn’t see a single Peacock! It seems that this problem has been growing over the last few years and no one knows what to do about it. Aside from being annoyed by the birds’ presence and excrement on personal property, they can also show aggressive behavior that includes incessant screeching throughout the day! Image Credit: Melanie Hughes, unsplash.com Several calls have been made by residents to the Nebraska Humane Society, but they claim to not have the personnel or resources to address what many consider to be an unchecked bird population. The local Humane Society suggests that unless they harm someone or damage property, “Just let them be!” Many years ago, I had my own issues with Peacocks. At that time, I was considering where to attend seminary. I was certain ...