PATHWAYS

Our neighborhood quail--before the snow

Often when shoveling freshly-fallen snow, I encounter the dainty footprints (claw-prints?) of local California quail, identified by their gray coats and the lone forehead tear-drop feather, like the turban on an oriental potentate. Because female quail typically lay between 8 and 16 eggs, I'm guessing the “tribe” that hangs out under our hedge rose (with its abundance of edible rose hips and buried bugs) is a mom, dad and lots of juvenile quail.

Constantly they cluck “rebekah” as they strut beneath branches. The slightest disturbance—like passersby or our front door opening--sends them into their low-flying escape behavior. Then it's back to rebekah, rebekah, rebekah—their trademark cluck. Sometimes they walk along the top of our backyard fence, their bulky bodies teetering on the narrow fence boards. Though they aren't high fliers like other birds, their wings do provide enough motion to give them soft landings back on earth.

So? Well, having such a beautiful display of God's creation moving through our yard gets me thinking about times in my younger life when I wasn't quite out on my own and still learning from my parents or parent figures in my life. The latter group was particularly important to me because my own parents died when I was a very young adult. Thus I looked for godly adult models to lead me into fuller adulthood. Like a poult (young quail) following close behind a parent, I kept their example in sight.

Of that time in my life, this verse took on personal meaning:

Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, 'This is the way, walk in in it.'” (Isaiah 30:20-21)

The context, of course, was the prophet Isaiah's warning for Israel to return to God. But he wanted them to realize there could be a better ending to the story being written by conquering nations if they turned from their immature, immoral ways. For me, during my times of adversity and affliction after my parents' death, I became especially tuned in to the character of good people God placed in my life.

Another encouraging passage from that difficult time in my life was Psalm 37:23-24:

The Lord delights in the way of the man whose steps he has made firm; though he stumble, he will not fail, for the LORD upholds him with his hand.

When life got scary—in job and location changes when I didn't know where I'd live, my finances were thin, and I hadn't connected with a spiritual family (okay, are you hearing Mama and Papa Quail clucking me to stay close?)-- I prayed in trust that God would firm up my faltering steps because I believed He was utterly trustworthy. And He did, often in surprising, last-minute ways.

When quail wander over the snow covering our driveway, their claws leave delightful patterns. They circle around a few times, then go off in a different direction. And sometimes my life was like that, too. Not a straight-forward race, but one with detours. But God was keeping His eye on me and—like those parent quails—knew when to signal my need to come back closer to His safe place.

Be careful, little feet

 

When you’re a first-time grandma (or even a first-time parent) you look at the details of that newborn—like feet. You wonder not only when they will walk, but how they will walk. Already I am praying that my newborn grandson, Josiah, will walk in the ways of God.

“Walk” is a good word. It was a good analogy for Bible times, when people mostly walked or rode wagons or animals.  There were no hybrid cars with amazing MPG ratings. Life was hard, one footstep at a time.

Particularly during the forty years of the exodus, Bible-times people lived from step to step. Thus after explaining God’s basic commands for life, Moses exhorted them with a word they knew well: walk. “So be careful to do what the LORD your God has commanded you,” Moses said. “Do not turn aside to the right or to the left. Walk in all the ways that the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong all your days in the land that you will possess” (Deut. 5:32-33).

Thus a prayer for my grandson: Walk in the noble way of God’s commands. The Ten Commandments are not just “rules.” They are reminders of how we reflect our Creator, the holy One.

Another is in Deuteronomy 10:12-13. Most notable are its verbs of following God: fear the Lord your God, walk in all his ways, love Him, serve the Lord your God will all your heart and with all your soul, observe the Lord’s commands.

Thus for my grandson: Serving God is at the heart of following Him. It’s not all about you.  It’s about responding in love and awe to the Lord your God through participation in His work on earth.

When my life was at turbulent crossroads, I found hope and comfort in another “walk” passage in Isaiah 30:20-21: “Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’”

Again, for my grandson: You’ll encounter people who haven’t a clue about the Lord. They’ll want you to follow their way. Early on, I hope you are encouraged to memorize Psalm 1: “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked.” It’s all around us—in the news that elevates the views of  godlessness, in the pressure of peers, and in our natural inclination to think only of ourselves. Listen to that quiet voice of God’s spirit.

In recent years, another “walk” command has become a comfort and a challenge. When the apostle John aged, his personality mellowed as the love of Christ gripped his heart. Thus it is no surprise that “love” pervades his last letters. In the opening section of 1 John, he wrote about those who claim to be Christians but have dark sides to their spirits, lying and failing to follow God’s truth. In contrast, “if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).

Dear Grandson, walk in love. Stay in God’s light. Never stop being amazed by God’s love in sending Christ to die for your sins.