Quack, quack, went the duck.
Or something like that. We’re up to ‘Q’ in our alphabet themed walks. I needed some groceries from Woolworths, which is conveniently located by a pond and a large park.
‘Quack’ starts with Q, so I figured that a duck picture would suffice for our photo scavenger hunt style walk today. The real aim, of course, is to maintain a sense of community with the gym ladies during this season in which restrictions prevent us from exercising at Curves, while also getting outside and moving.
So I bought a fluffy coffee and sat by the pond … yes, yes, I know it was meant to be a walk. The walk would come.
As I sat, I meditated on a passage which we are studying in BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) this week.
If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
Matthew 7:11 NIV
Messy
I felt messy. I was messy. Hair LONG overdue for a trim, dressed in tracksuit pants and fleecy jacket, I was frustrated. I have so much to do, but struggle to knuckle down and focus. Hence a midday walk rather than my usual late afternoon walk. At least, I figured, I could achieve my ‘Q walk’ goal for the day.
“Heavenly Father,” I prayed. “You give your children good gifts. Here I am. Is there anything particular that you would communicate? Please help me to hear.”
Then, as if to reinforce my messiness, something white and sloppy splashed onto my leg. I looked up at the underside of an Australian magpie.
Ugh.
Eccentric lady and little girl
No, I’m not talking about myself. Although there are perhaps arguments to support the idea that I am becoming a little eccentric as I age.
It was a lady with pink zinc over her nose and cheeks, a pretty dress and a shopping bag full of bird feed that I’m talking about.
She walked about an open grassy area near the pond scattering seed as she went. Birds of every feather – black, brown, ducks, swamp hens, magpies and more – flew down or waddled fast to the open area.
I sat and watched, awe-filled at the quirkiness of God’s good creation. The little duck family particularly caught my eye.
Enter a little girl. Running faster than her father, she, too, was captivated by the duck family. The eccentric lady stopped her.
“See that daddy duck,” she said. “He loves his ducklings so much that he will do anything to protect them. And that means that he might hurt you. So you mustn’t run near them. Just watch from here.”
Daddy duck…..
Something went ‘ding’ in my muddled mind.
A song and a walk
The eccentric lady and I both watched the birds for a long time. We outstayed the little girl and her father.
I may be messy, but since when has that stopped a father loving his daughter? Let alone a Heavenly Father.
Finally, having long finished my coffee, I picked up my earphones and set off on my walk. I had intended to listen to a language lesson as I walked, but was reluctant to leave this special moment. So instead I put the song ‘Good, good Father’ (sung by Chris Tomlin – look it up) on repeat.
As I walked, I sang. Perhaps passers-by thought that I was an eccentric lady, and perhaps they would have been right. In any case, I’m a child of God, and his opinion of me is all that matters.
You’re a good, good Father,
Songwriters: Tony Brown and Pat Barrett
It’s who you are, it’s who you are, it’s who you are,
And I’m loved by you,
It’s who I am, it’s who I am, it’s who I am.
One more song
All good things come to an end, and it was time to get my groceries and head home.
At which point, I realised that I couldn’t find my shopping list. It was in my bag somewhere, I’m quite sure. Oh dear, I am such a mess. Scruffy hair, comfy clothing splattered with white, no list, shopping in the middle of the day when most self-respecting workers would be hard at work … aaaaargh.
Having purchased some of what I needed … not all, as I have since realised … I hopped in the car for the five minute drive home. Halfway back, a song on the radio caught my attention. No, it wasn’t the song I had been singing in the park, but it was quite apt for a windblown, bird-excrement-splattered woman. It is called ‘Known’, by Tauren Wells. Look it up.
It’s so unusual, it’s frightening,
Songwriters: Tauren Wells / Jordan Douglas Sapp / Ethan Gregory Hulse
You see right through the mess inside me….
I’m fully known and loved by you….
It’s hard truth and ridiculous grace to be fully known and loved by you.
Daddy Duck type care
Now I am home and at the computer. Yesterday I drafted a long blog post summarising some insights from a recent course I took which was designed to help participants prayerfully discern where the Lord would have us focus in this next season of life. I did not post it, though, because I wasn’t happy with it. It wasn’t focused enough, which, of course, reflects the fact that I feel inadequately focused.
(The course was good, incidentally. And the re-worked blog post about it may yet appear in coming days in short segments.)
In the context of feeling messy … unfocused, poorly groomed and even splattered upon … our Heavenly Father co-ordinated a lovely lesson for me today.
I started out meditating on a verse from Matthew, in which Jesus told us to ask our heavenly father for what we need, knowing that he longs to give us good gifts.
If daddy ducks passionately and lovingly care for their own, how much more will our Heavenly Father care for us, his redeemed, restored creation. Even, perhaps, to the extent of co-ordinating a daddy duck care lesson for this child today.
And so, messy and unfocused, I ask…..
