Articles
Reflections - Chipmunk
R E F L E C T I O N S
Thoughts on nature and the Christian faith
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"I have stored up your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you." - Ps. 119:11
There are not many creatures that are as cute as a chipmunk. These little fellows always cause me to smile. They scurry about with a nervous energy that makes it hard for predators to catch them. And they do have predators! The list of creatures that prey on chipmunks is quite long including hawks, owls, foxes, coyotes, cats, snakes, weasels, and even blue herons. They dig out elaborate tunnels to hide in to escape danger and to hibernate. Their hibernation is not constant however. They awake every few months to feed on the supply of nuts and berries they have stored up during the summer months. And so, when we see them they are usually very busy gathering food which they can cram into their cheeks which swell several times bigger than their heads before they retreat to their underground storage rooms to deposit their food supply for the coming winter. All this activity requires a lot of sleep. Chipmunks sleep about 15 hours a day. So when they are awake they have little time to accomplish a lot. And they do all this without any help. Chipmunks are loners that only interact with other chipmunks during mating. Their life revolves around storing up food. We humans spend quite a lot of time ourselves storing up things, but what we store up is usually trivial trinkets to satisfy our pride. That is, unless what we are storing up in our hearts is the word of God. That is true food that will sustain us through the harshest winter. It is amazing to me to experience a portion of scripture that I had stored away years ago come to my remembrance at the time and place when I needed it most. Scripture is God speaking to our deepest need. It is good food to store up and then to feed upon. - John
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