Now and Laters

I think there used to be candies called Now and Laters. I don’t think I ever tasted them, but I have something better.

We got good pecans from a tree in our back yard for the first time since we moved here in ’05. Ronald has fought off marauding squirrels for years and this year, he faithfully gathered the few that fell. The ones the squirrels didn’t get to first that is!

We’ve been working together to shell the pecans. He cracks them with a hammer at the kitchen table. I sit with my feet up in the recliner and the lap desk across me. He brings the partially opened pecans for me to finish cleaning.

After and hour or so of work yesterday, Ronald picked up the bowl of nuts and frowned. “I thought we’d have a lot more pecans in that amount of time.

Hmmm. Do I admit the truth of it? Do I dare tell him I am worse than any squirrel out there about stealing his pecans?

Nah! It is such slow going, I don’t really eat that much. I just eat some now and save most for later. Since he doesn’t even like them, he doesn’t really care. The whole process of getting rid of squirrels, gathering dropped pecans, and preparing them are the things he’s interested in.

On the other hand, I like nuts. Since they are healthy in moderation, my sneaking, I mean snacking, is justified. And I am eating them in moderation because it takes so long to get those suckers out of the shells!

Which goes to show though squirrelly, I am not a squirrel. But being the nerd I am, I studied on squirrels and found them quite interesting. God is a fantastic Creator!

Not only can squirrels break open the hard shells of pecans, opening walnuts is not a problem. God made their jaws and teeth so strong the little rascals can pop open a nut while we are stomping, hammering, and pliering (is that even a word?) to try to get to the inside. My father-in-law used to pour a sack of black walnuts on the driveway and run over them. That would crack the super hard outer shell to be able to get inside with a hammer and pliers.

Amazing stuff you can learn on the internet. And squirrels need the hard shells to sharpen their teeth. If they do not have hard shells to work with, their teeth will grow too long and kill them. Which goes to show, them eating at your bird feeder is not healthy for them.  (That would be a great object lesson about taking the easy way out, don’t you think?)

Many sites provide nuts with the shells still on them specifically for squirrels. Ronald would say anyone who bought special nuts for the little rodents is very squirrelly! When he has to pull baby pecan trees from his garden, he has a few other things he likes to say.

Another fact. According to the internet anyway. Squirrels can find 95% of the nuts they bury. But who can believe the internet?

Even though I am a bit squirrelly and a lot nerdy, I do know truth when I see it. I can believe God’s Word in the ‘now’ and in all my ‘laters’.

Psalm 33:4  For the Word of the Lord holds true, and we can trust everything He does. NLT

The NIV says it this way. For the Word of the Lord is right and true. He is faithful in all He does.

Jesus had His listeners think about God’s care of the birds of the air and the lilies of the field.  If He makes even the squirrels in such a marvelous way and provides for them, let’s all be assured that God created us special and provides for our ‘nows’ in this life and the ‘laters’ in eternity as we trust in Him.

Blessings

KB