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This last weekend I was not feeling very well. I had managed to snag the newest flu bug, but couldn’t bear to sit inside while the few remaining bits of seasonal warmth faded under the approaching blanket of fall. I pulled a chair out on the deck, closed my eyes, and tilted my head towards the sun. Just then, a sharp noise pierced the air. I couldn’t see where the cry was coming from so I decided to get up and poke around. It didn’t take long to discover that a baby squirrel had fallen from a tree and lodged himself in between the two panels of my fence. Carefully, I pulled him out and laid him in an old shoe box.
On Monday morning I called the vet down the street and was promptly told to call the “squirrel lady”. Amazed that there was actually someone labeled “the squirrel lady” I chuckled to myself and dialed her number. Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to expect but, a bubbly, courteous and extremely professional woman answered the phone. She gathered some details about my little friend and asked if he had any brothers or sisters. “I don’t think so” I said, and explained that he had simply fallen from the tree.
“Sounds like an orphaned nest.” She said “There are probably a few more little guys up there. They are getting hungry and starting to wander from the nest. You should try to get a ladder up there to get the rest of them before they fall.”
I headed back outside to listen, and it wasn’t long before another cry echoed from high in the tree. I knocked on my neighbor’s door to ask about a ladder, but no one was home. Worried and bewildered, I went back to the tree and peered up. The cry grew more and more intense and time was passing quickly. I knew that if I did not do something fast, it would probably mean tragedy for the little guy. So, I decided to climb the tree myself! I changed clothes, pulled on some “alligator hunter” gloves and grabbed a bag to collect whoever I found.
Carefully I climbed up a chair, hoisted myself onto the fence, and precariously wedged myself into an arm of the tree. I slowly made my way up, hoping beyond hope that I would somehow be able to make it back down again! It soon became clear that I was not going to be able to reach the nest safely by myself. I stopped to plot the next course of action, when suddenly my eye caught a glimpse of a small, fuzzy, creature clinging helplessly to a limb just a few feet from me. He began to cry in panicked outbursts, no doubt, giving away any remaining energy. Gently, I pried him from the branch and began my decent.
Once I got down and set him inside the box with his brother I assessed the damage. My arms and legs were covered in scratches and bruises, and leaves and small sticks had lodged themselves in my hair. Then it dawned on me, I had risked life and limb, not to mention an extremely high deductible on my health insurance for the sake of a squirrel!
So, what made me do it? What made me cast aside work and safety to call, search, and climb? Really, I think anyone with a heart would have done the same, but this really got me thinking.
Why don’t we extend the same urgency and self sacrifice for the hurting, starving souls around us? Literally, there are orphaned, helpless and hungry people all over. They need hope and peace that only God he can offer. They hang dangerously over the edge of uncertainty and death, and try desperately to find a comfort that will last. They have wandered far from the source of safety and are in need of someone to place personal wellbeing, agenda, and safety aside to rescue them.
How risky are you? Would you have climbed the tree or would you have ignored the plea? How much more important is the life of a human being?
I urge you to listen intently to your surroundings. Is there someone who needs your attention? Is there someone who has wondered from safety and is trying desperately to keep from falling? Time is running out and souls are in danger. Today, do something risky for the sake of eternity!