There was something different about my neighbor’s lawn ornaments. I got home from work in the late afternoon about a week or so ago. As I went to check the mailbox, something caught my eye in the neighbor’s front yard. Our neighbor has a brick-edged flowerbed circling a maple tree. On each side of the flowerbed stand two three-foot-tall ceramic deer. That day there stood a motionless goose beside one of the deer. Then I spotted another Canadian goose behind the tree. I took a picture of the four lawn ornaments. This is unusual for our part of the neighborhood. The geese tend to stay over at one of the ponds on the next street. The next morning the geese were still there. Later I noticed one of them standing on the roof of a white pickup truck parked across from my neighbor’s house. My neighbor sent me a text asking if I had noticed the geese. I called them his new lawn ornaments. He corrected me by saying one had become a hood ornament for the truck. Then he mentioned that they would probably be with us for a month. The goose is nesting in the flowerbed. The gander stands on patrol.
As the temperature has warmed, the gander has taken to guarding both of our houses, retreating under the truck only to nap. The truck owner has not noticed that the gander can no longer stand on the truck due to the unpleasantness on its roof. The geese choose to use our driveway and sidewalk when they need to stretch. I find that the snow shovel works well, but it is noisy. Maybe that is why the geese decided today to alternate their breaks in the relative privacy of our front stoop and on the welcome mat at our front door. Only three weeks to go.
Cleaning up the mess is a chore that needs to be done, whether we like it or not. I wonder sometimes what God thinks of the mess I make of things. In Biblical language confession leads to cleansing. Admitting I am responsible for my own sin is step one. It is much easier to point to others’ messes. Confessing someone else’s sin, while self-satisfying, does not lead to personal cleansing. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9.
Keep healthy. Pray mightily. Enjoy your life today. Clean up the unpleasantness. And let’s experience the love and power of God together.
Share this webpage:
