Trees of The Palm Persuasion: Lessons from the Marmots

So there are these squirrels properly called marmots that live outside my window. They just had their babies. They love to climb up the fence and hang from the wires.Sometimes I look out my window and I see there are five or six on one post: one at the top and all the others hanging from the wires.

From watching and observing them all year I have learned many things. This is what sticks out to me as of late though: We like the marmots try so hard to climb the post and end up just hanging there until we fall down not realizing there is another post fifteen feet away. It seems stupid but we do it all the time.

What I don't think we realize is that there are several posts unoccupied left empty and ready to be climbed. I feel so often within the church that we always want to be the one on that certain post. We think oh it would be glamourous to be a worship leader or be able to be the speaker. I believe strongly and would argue that we each have a post to climb and that God has destined for us to reign over a specific area, but it is by no means the glamorous. We need to stop bickering about positions and power. We can't continue to focus on the nearsightedness! There is a neccesity to look past the post and see that empty one.

See where you can help out in the church, you don't have to have some glamorous job just one that shows that you are willing to answer Jesus' call to be humble enough, be servant enough, and be loving enough.

Billy Grahm has said many profound things in his life but one is brought to my mind tonight. He said to the people that stuff his envelopes "Your reward will be greater than mine in Heaven." It's not about the glamorous.

Above many other things I have learned this quarter it is everyday work I do that God can use. I may want to be doing something glamorous like in a different season of life but God calls us to embrace the season we are in and to focus on the maybe small impact we can make on a select few around us.

I write this tonight to post what I have worked on this quarter but secondly say the greatest in heaven will be those who are not known by the world's eyes only by the eye's of the Father.

This is the work I have done this quarter...I have not had much time to devote to many things but God has used what I have done. Used it to shape me and allowed myself to be used in incredible ways without me even thinking I was doing anything but the ordinary.

FINAL PROJECT:
Enviornmental Retreat Center