"Now the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand, and the donkey turned aside out of the way and went into the field. So Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back onto the road. 24 Then the Angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on this side and a wall on that side. 25 And when the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD, she pushed herself against the wall and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall; so he struck her again. 26 Then the Angel of the LORD went further, and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left. 27 And when the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam; so Balaam’s anger was aroused, and he struck the donkey with his staff.
28 Then the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” Numbers 22:23-28
I have a short little story to tell of how we should pay attention to everything around us. And I mean everything. I may not have had a donkey speak to me this morning, but God will use whatever is around to get our attention if needs be.
I was laying in bed this morning, still feeling tired and wishing I could sleep just a little while longer. I worked hard yesterday in the garden, and my body feels it, so a little more sleep would be welcome. I was just laying there, debating whether I should get up or doze off for just a little longer. I really had no big plans this morning- I had to do my blogging and my workout, but beyond that, the busy stuff for the day wasn't until afternoon. I was thinking I should really get up, but a bigger part of me was still so tired...
When suddenly this crow lands on the roof right outside our bedroom window and starts cawing like mad. It was an open window no less, and it sounded like he was right in the room with me. He sat there for a minute or two cawing before he started flying in circles around the house- still cawing. Have you ever had one of those moments where you just know something? I knew that crow was not there by accident, and I needed to get up. So I did. I puzzled for a minute over what that could mean- why did I need to get up this morning and get my day going?
Yeah... the doorbell rang just half-an-hour later. We had an appointment with a plumber to be here later in the day after 11:00 in the morning. He had a sudden free-up of his morning and thought he'd stop by earlier. Oh my. Instantly, I was so thankful to God for sending that crow to caw me awake this morning. Had I allowed myself to doze off, no doubt, the doorbell would have been what would have woken me up, and THAT would have been a totally awkward door answering. Instead, I was awake, alert, and ready to receive the plumber.
The crow was a nuisance. Oh my, was that an annoying way to wake up! But it got me out of bed, that's for sure. And now the work being done by the plumber is being done early in the day, so that I can have the rest of my day free to do what I wasn't going to be able to. God is so good! I've been making plans all week to go and do specific things, and one thing or another has derailed them, the plumber was the latest of these. Now I can try and rearrange my day to accommodate those things instead of simply being stuck here waiting for work to be done.
My messenger this morning may not have been as exciting as a donkey turning to me and speaking. But God can and will use all manner of creatures to get our attention if He needs to. This morning, it just happened to be an annoying crow who sounded like he wanted to wake up the world. Annoying, certainly, but it certainly got me out of bed, and it also turned my thoughts immediately toward Heaven, wondering why HE would want me up and ready for the day.
Don't discount the little things. I could have disregarded that crow (loud as he was), but a check in my spirit told me that this was something to pay attention to, and I'm so glad I did.
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