This morning, I decided to enjoy my daily time of coffee and reading, out in the backyard. As usual, the rest of the family remained asleep during this early hour of the day, and the coolness outside was invitation enough to leave my desk for now, especially since the hot summer sun would soon be chasing me back inside.
I’m reading Tozer’s ‘Pursuit of God’ and am in the section of the book where he talks about the immanent nature of God. That He is everywhere all at once.
Part of that explanation included how we can see and know God through creation – not in a pantheistic sense, but rather, through the fingerprint of a Divine Designer. All creation derives its very breath and source of life from God.
As I read and think about this, the serenity of my surroundings are conspicuously invaded as I have slowly become aware of a soft, dull tapping sound in the nearby distance.
About 30 feet from where I sit is a dead tree. A woodpecker has chosen this venue to dine on insects for breakfast. I couldn’t help but make note of a few observations as I watched.
Have a Purpose.
The first thing I noticed was that there were 3 other birds in the tree at the time. But only the woodpecker seemed to have a reason or purpose for being there: Eat bugs.
The other birds remained perched on their respective branches, perhaps each eyeballing the other in some sort of territorial standoff. To be honest, I couldn’t tell you what goes through the mind of a bird in this instance. But aside from the staredowns, they weren’t doing much and it wasn’t too long before all flew off in a skittish manner. I think they just finally scared each other.
Not so, the woodpecker. It was fully engaged with that tree, hopping from one branch to the other while diligently pecking away for several minutes at a time.
It was there for a reason and busy fulfilling it.
Stay Focused.
Back to those 3 birds. While those guys were too busy checking each other out and preoccupied with one another, the woodpecker seemed to be totally unaware of itself. That is to say, it was so engrossed with its task at hand, that it had no self-awareness.
The woodpecker didn’t seem to care what the other birds were doing, or that they were even there for that matter.
It was too focused on pecking at bugs.
You Be You.
The final observation I made, as the lone woodpecker made its way through the bug buffet offered by this tree, was how it moved and behaved differently than other birds.
While the other birds had sat idly perched on horizontal branches, the woodpecker chose to peck at vertical branches. Sometimes it would end up upside down as it pecked around a branch, following it to the trunk.
And of course, the actual ‘pecking’ itself is such a unique behavior that the bird gets its name from that action. Watching a woodpecker repeatedly bouncing its beak off a tree branch was enough to almost give me a headache.
I wonder how many other birds have observed a woodpecker and thought, “Hey, that looks like a good way to get bugs!” then tried their hand, er, beak at it. I’ll remind you once more that I don’t know what goes through the mind of birds.
I do know that a woodpecker is uniquely designed to peck at trees in order to get at the bugs in there. From the way it scales tree limbs, to banging its head, that woodpecker was made to peck.
Life Application.
The applications here are pretty obvious, I think. Take what you want from it. I know it made me pause and think, at least for that moment.
Apparently, Solomon found himself momentarily fascinated by creation as well, and on the ground observing ants one day. Here’s what he had to say about that…
Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest. How long will you lie there, O sluggard? When will you arise from your sleep? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man. Proverbs 6:6-11 ESV
There are many instances in Scripture where nature is used for an object lesson. Let’s not blow through life so fast that we miss opportunities to learn from these critters.