Shaping Us To Fit

 

“Be A Chickadee” by Caleb Smith (Country Magazine June/July 2018) The Red-tailed Hawk is the apex predator in the skies of north Georgia. But just the other day, as I was setting on my porch, I saw a small Chickadee attack one. Chickadees are tiny, weighing less than an ounce, and they lack the hawk’s talons or sharp beak. But here was this enormous hawk, beating its wings as hard as it could, trying to escape the aggressive ball of fluff chasing after it. Surely the chickadee knew it wouldn’t be able to leave a scratch on the hawk, right? Maybe the chickadee knew but didn’t care. Perhaps whatever the hawk threatened was so important in the chickadee’s mind that their actual sizes didn’t matter. In life we face troubles that sometimes seem so much bigger than we are. Some people run when this happens. Then sometimes, people find what the chickadee had; something bigger than their problems. That tiny bird was protecting its nest. And the courage the chickadee showed not only saved its family, but its own life, too. At the first sign of weakness, that hawk would have turned on the little bird. But with courage bold, the chickadee stood firm and faced its problems head on. So, when life rages, and it will, look to the example of the chickadee. Because the hawks of this world don’t care how big you are, they only care how big you act. Find that thing in your life that is bigger than anything the world can throw at you and hold on to it when hard times come. When hawks are at your door - be a chickadee.

During the Great Depression, a good man lost his job, exhausted his savings, and forfeited his home. His grief was multiplied with the death of his precious wife. The only thing he had left was his faith, and it was weakening. One day while looking for work he happened upon some men who were doing stonework on a church building. One of them was skillfully chiseling a triangular piece of rock. He asked, “Where are you going to put that stone?” The craftsman pointed toward the top of the building, “See that little opening up there near the spire? That’s where it goes. I’m shaping it down here so it will fit up there.” Tears filled the man’s eyes as he walked away. He felt God had talked to him through these words: “…shaping it down here so it will fit up there.” He found new meaning and courage through renewed faith to press forward in his difficult situation.

[James 1:1-2] During the last decade of the famous artist’s life, Renoir was confined to his home because of his crippling arthritis. His friend, Matisse, visited him daily. In spite of the torturous pain, Renoir kept painting. In fact, he did so almost to his dying day. On one occasion when Renoir was struggling with every brush stroke, Matisse said to him, “Aguste, why do you continue to paint when you are in such agony?” To which Renoir replied, “The beauty remains; the pain passes.” Some of you may be going through terrible troublesome times. You may be experiencing some heart-breaking sorrow. Or perhaps you are enduring some painful physical illness. Or it may be something else – maybe even too excruciating to talk to anyone about. The blows of the hammer and chisel hurt! But it’s the harsh blows to the body that often brings the greatest strength to the inner person. God is good, even when we don’t understand all the reasons for the things that happen to us. Let us place our trust in the one who sees and knows all. He will do what is best for us. Hold fast to your faith. Don’t let the difficulties of life get you down. They are only temporary. Glory is coming. Keep praying! Keep believing! Let us lay our soul, our heart, and our life into His hands, “…that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”  The Master has to do some shaping of us all down here, so we will fit up there.