God’s Amusing Diversions

I carried my Bible study books out to the front porch one morning last summer. CW spends many summer mornings on the porch with his study materials and prayer journal and seems to accomplish a lot. I always work inside because I’m so easily distracted. This particular day when the wicker settee beckoned, however, CW was out of town and I was the only one there to answer the call.

I arranged my books and papers around me. But before I even got into my thinking stage (which comes before my doing stage), Diversion #1 arrived in the form of chirpy sounds coming from beyond the yard. I looked up to see a chipmunk chasing a bird down the street. I chuckled at the cartoonish way the bird hopped along, staying just a foot ahead of its pursuer. I wondered why it didn’t take flight to ensure its safety. Perhaps they were playing a friendly game of tag. The action moved behind some parked cars and the porch pillar, so I couldn’t see how it ended. What fun it was, though, to glimpse their silly antics!

I returned my attention to my work, but it wasn’t long until Diversion #2 announced itself. This one was right in front of me on the porch.

Birds used to build nests inside our two brick pillars, so we covered the openings with pieces of screen held down with rocks. There is still room for them to build on top of the screen, though, and they take turns with the squirrels doing just that. At this time, we were renting the right pillar to a pair of Carolina wrens. We occasionally caught Mama and Daddy bringing meals in, but we couldn’t see into the nest hidden behind the rock.

On my porch-sitting day, there was a lot of activity up there. I glanced up from my work (now in the thinking stage) to see a baby bird looking over the rock. It seemed bewildered about the big world it was viewing for the first time. I was a little confused, too. It was quite a bit larger than its petite parents.

I hurried inside to get my camera, and to do a little research as well. I learned that brown-headed cowbirds lay their eggs in nests of smaller birds to be raised by the “foster parents.” It isn’t until sometime before winter arrives that the young cowbirds begin hanging out with their own kind. The picture was coming into focus. A month earlier we had noticed several male brown-headed cowbirds in our front yard. Apparently our wrens had been finagled into the “ranching” business.

A half hour after the young chick appeared outside the nest, it climbed awkwardly down and around the pillar and dropped into a bed of dwarf irises. Mama returned to the nest with more food for a sibling.

After taking some pictures, I sat back down. Maybe I could keep an eye on what was unfolding and still get some work done. But then came Diversion #3. A clamorous dragging noise stretched the entire 100 yards from the end of the street to our house, disturbing the tranquil setting.

A box truck had picked up some unscheduled cargo as it turned around in the dead end. When the driver finally realized the deafening noise was coming from his vehicle, he stopped just past our house and got out to investigate. He discovered a large plastic garbage bin stuck underneath his truck. He fought with it quite a while before he dislodged the mangled mess and walked it back to its owner. I would have liked to hear that conversation. Twenty minutes later, he was on his way, and by then I knew I wasn’t going to get any Bible study accomplished.

Chick 1 remained semi-hidden in the plants. Chick 2 was still enjoying room service. I packed up my stuff and went inside to eat lunch and, hopefully, get some other things accomplished. But Diversion #2 continued throughout the day as I had to keep checking on our foster family.

Mid-afternoon, I discovered Chick 2 on a wire plant stand below the nest. It looked as bewildered as its sibling had earlier. Two hours later, I found it on top of the left pillar. It stood at the edge for a long while, most of the space being occupied by a vacant squirrel nest. Then it hopped on top of the nest. Its parents continued to deliver food to the new address.

At one point I looked out the window and saw a squirrel scurrying up the pillar. It had nearly reached the chick when I made a racket getting out the door. Foster mom also flew to the rescue. We sufficiently deterred Mr. Squirrel from whatever mischief it had planned.

CW arrived home after dark. With the aid of the porch light, he got to see Chick 2 standing on the squirrel nest. I never saw the babies after that.

I had planned my morning for God, thinking He wanted me to spend my time in Bible study. But instead, He had planned the morning for me. He treated me to a private show, beginning with a “Chippy & Chirpy” cartoon. The main feature was a nature documentary following a foster family through a day of provision, protection, and prodding youngsters out of the nest. In the middle of the story, there was a public service announcement about the danger of leaving your empty garbage can at the curb if you live at the end of a dead-end street.

What a totally unexpected morning! I think God was saying, “I’m happy you wanted to study My Word, but this morning I wanted you to enjoy My world with Me.” That’s just what I had done, and I found His diversions to be most entertaining.