Thank You Pocket Gopher
Thank you, pocket gopher, for reminding me again there's more that's going on that what can be seen on the surface. For keeping my focus clear that what you see above ground is only a piece of the whole extent.
Last summer, I discovered a new resident occupying our property. He lives about six inches below the surface of the grass and makes his presence known sometimes by building a mound of dirt where he decides to come up for air. He is a pocket gopher.
He and I don't get along well. I have nothing but distain for this little creature who was chased out of my neighbors yard and then found refuge in mine…..
But distain aside, this little creature has taught me something profound about life and the condition of the inner person.
See, it's spring now, and I had hoped that Mr. Gopher's time in our lives had come to an end. Sadly, I have learned he's not yet ready to give up his stay on Jersey Drive. And yet, I have learned something valuable from a creature I fully intend to evict.
There is more going on. Always.
There's always more happening
than what my eye can see.
My friend, the pocket gopher has been busy this winter, carving his path around my yard. He has seemingly had the time of his life, digging and digging and digging some more.
But he has taught me never to discount the internal solely based on the external perception.
He has also taught me that people may be more receptive to hope than I ever thought possible. As we approach Holy Week and think about Easter, I'm reminded about the people we may have in our lives that we think are far from God, who God would never ever reach and who would never be open to God at all.
But the pocket gopher has reminded me this spring that there's more there than meets the eye. And that you never know what the condition of the ground is until you step on it. See, in my yard, there's grass everywhere. And in most places, the ground is still hard, except for the places the pocket gopher has been busy at work.
In those places, the ground is soft, moldable and pliable. It occurred to me that the pocket gopher's affect on my yard is not far removed from God's affect on the inner person of people everywhere.