Good morning, Dear Friends and Prayer Partners! This is the day that the Lord has made and we will rejoice and be glad in it! Did you early risers see the magnificent full moon this morning? I was so startled when I stepped outside and almost blinded by the huge brightness of the moon over the house! I saw many stars, also, for the first time in many days. God is the Creator of all things beautiful!
I was pleased to see the baby gators were still at the first shelter, but not so pleased on my walk, to see a man feeding Mama gator cracker crumbs. There was a sign right in front of him, warning against feeding or molesting them, but I restrained myself from saying anything. After I walked out to the tower, where he was with his two little boys in a stroller, I walked on back to the building and told Francia about the incident. We were both in a quandary about what to do, or who to call, since there is no one there permanently any more to take care of things like that.
I described him to her and she went out to meet him coming off the bridge and was talking to him when I left. Hopefully, he received an education about why it is so dangerous to feed the animals. I think and she does to, that more and more of this will be happening, as people realize that no one is there to stop them. Sigh.
Anyway, I enjoyed the walk, but the wind blowing and a little cooler. God is Good!
From Quiet Moments with God for Teachers:
Let us not be weary in well doing, for in due season, we shall reap , if we faint not.
Galatians 6:9 KJV
Are you in the midst of a frustrating struggle? Before you throw in the towel, remember this story about the bulldog.
A man once owned two very fine bird dogs, and he had spent many hours training them. One day he looked out his window just in time to see an ugly little bulldog digging his way under the fence into his bird dogs' yard. As the dog wriggled under the fence, the man realized it was too late to stop him.
He thought to himself how uneven the fight would be. The poor little bulldog was surely no match for his animals. Snipping, barking, growling--tails and ears flying--the battle raged. When the little dog had had enough, he trotted back to the hole under the fence and shimmied out.
Amazed that none of the dogs looked any the worse from the fight, he didn't give the incident another thought until the next day, when he saw the little bulldog coming down the sidewalk toward the hole in the fence. To his amazement, a repeat performance of the previous day's battle began. And once again, the little bulldog picked his moment to end the fight, left the bird dogs barking and snarling, and casually slid back under the fence.
Day after day for over a week, the unwelcome visitor returned to harass his bigger canine counterparts. then the man was obliged to leave for a week on business. When he returned, he asked his wife about the ongoing battle.
"Battle?" she replied, "Why there hasn't been a battle in four days."
"He finally gave up?" asked the bird dog owner.
"Not exactly," she said. "That ugly little dog still comes around every day. He even shimmied under the fence until a day or so ago. But now all he has to do is walk past the hole and those bird dogs tuck their tails and head for their doghouse whining all the way."
Sometimes persistence is the key to success. If well thou hast begun, go on foreright; it is the end that crowns us, not the fight.
Robert Herrick
I always give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers with thanksgiving, joy and love!
Love and hugs,
Amaryllis
