My husband built me a bird feeder from a welding rod can.  It was painted a beautiful red color with a white cap (made from a stove element cover).  I thought it was sure to withstand anything.

That is, until my nightly bird coon came along.  The pretty raccoon in the picture gave me a joyful surprise when I discovered he’d been visiting my feeder.  I was confused, but wondered why the squirrels suddenly developed big enough muscles to begin disassembling my indestructible feeder.  Turns out the squirrels had been sharing their bounty with the bird coon.

I could’ve gotten angry that the squirrels decided my pretty red feeder was fair game.  I could’ve gotten even more angry that the raccoon decided it was a great place for a nightly treat.  After all, eventually, they had warped the lid I was so proud to have my husband assemble and had begun to wiggle the feeder off the screw he’d mounted to hold said feeder onto the post.  Finally, after many nights of abuse, the feeder could stand no more.  It toppled to the ground, and with it my heart fell a little.  It had been the first feeder my husband ever made for me; and the fact that he’d made it from the welding rod can was even more special.  He’d begun to follow a welding career, you see.  It was yet another landmark in the path of our marriage.

However, I decided that God loves all creatures great and small, and so should I.  The squirrels are sneaky little buggers and are quick to high-tail it out of sight whenever they suspect I’m anywhere near.  I rarely get a glimpse of them, but it delights me that they feel free to enjoy my donation to a good cause.

The raccoons, on the other hand, brought another creature to my bird stand.  On more than one occasion, I found a possum eating from the bounty placed on the stand.

After the critters made their disgust of my beautiful red feeder known, I retired it to the junk heap and dug out a plastic container.  The container had held a batch of cookies sold at Wal Mart.  It made a perfect feeder for my newly acquired friends.  They found it a joy to climb into the container and eat to their hearts content.  It fit snugly enough onto the screw that they left it alone as long as I provided treats.  Once I forgot to fill the container, so they knocked it to the ground to show their frustration with my careless abandon of their newly acquired nightly adventures.

Once I saw that they wanted to be regular visitors, I discovered that the critters liked our table scraps.  So, I began to put the scraps in the plastic feeder nightly.  By the next morning, all signs of the scraps were gone.  Occassionally, I would hang out clothes on the line just after dark.  As I’d go out the front door to round the corner to the clothesline, I’d catch my possum or racoon friends snacking on the feeder post.  It was amazing to me that they became brave enough to stay and allow me to pass within five feet of them.

I love animals.  God loves animals.  I know it is hard for the wild animals to dig up enough food to satisfy, so it made me happy to help provide for them while I was able.  I guess my possum friend was either discouraged by the competition or decided the snacks had gone past his ability to enjoy them.  I noticed the raccoon visiting earlier in the evenings, so I’m guessing he was beating the possum to the grub.  God’s wondrous creatures became my wondrous creatures.  I respected their need to be left alone to eat, aside from getting a picture every so often for my scrapbook.

I wish that more people could respect God’s creatures.  Why is it that we humans feel that because we are different and somewhat “superior” to the animals, that we should bully them into submission?  Why must we overtake their habitats and then become angry when they impose upon our own?  Why can’t we just admire their beauty and learn to live in peace with them the way the good Lord intended?

I believe that the way we interact with God’s creatures, be it bird coon, possum, squirrel, or whatever….says something about our character.  If we can’t have compassion for the wild creatures, why are we worthy of His compassion for us?  He created them with love.   They give to us so much that we take for granted, much like we take God’s gifts and abilities for granted.

Allow God to show you a new direction.  Take the time to learn from His other creatures.  See what you can learn from your own bird coons and such.  And remember, God loves ALL creatures great and small.  So should you.

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