This past week three ducks have taken up residency in the parking area behind my house. There is a street with a tiny bit of water and they have been huddled right next to it, dangerously close to a stream of ever passing cars.

This tiny body of water is just run off from a sprinkler and isn’t even half an inch deep or as big around as one entire duck body, but these three act as though they have found the holy grail.

Eight times I have driven past this trio, two male mallards and a female, and each time I hope they don’t get hit by a car and wonder what their attraction to this little bit of water is.

Yesterday I saw one of the males dip his beak in for a drink of water. It was cute to see them there the first day, and has become more astonishing each passing day.

Why you might ask would three ducks in a puddle be so interesting?

Well, on just the opposite side of my home, less than 50 yards away, there is an entire lake where ducks swim and frolic every day.

This scene has me asking myself, why do we humans often settle for so much less than what is available to us?

Why do we not reach for our fullest potential?

Why do we settle for crumbs when we can have the whole cake?

My youngest granddaughter recently reminded her mother of this lesson.

Xyla, age 2 ½, asked for a cookie. My daughter has been trying to monitor the children’s sugar intake and decided she would only offer her half. When she went to break the cookie in two it actually split into three pieces.

First, she tried offering the smallest piece, but Xyla wasn’t having it. Next, she offered the half, and again, Xyla refused. Finally, my daughter reached back in the box and gave her a whole cookie, which she happily accepted.

The child knew she deserved all that she desired, and refused to accept just a sliver.

If we want to take this imagery to a spiritual level, why do we try to do things ourselves instead of holding God’s hand and partnering with Him?

I have a friend who often says to me, “I’m swimming and swimming but I don’t go anywhere.”

He’s referring to working 7 days a week to pay off high interest credit cards that were run up to pay for his father’s hospital bills and three family funerals.

He works so hard but does not understand that he doesn’t have to do it all in his own strength. He comes from the belief that, “God helps those who help themselves.”

I have good days and I have unbelievably difficult days, but I come from a belief that God’s love for me is deeper than that little puddle where the three ducks have chosen to camp.

It’s deeper than that whole lake in front of my house that seems like Nirvana compared to the puddle; and it’s deep enough to offer me relationship, wisdom, direction, and provision.

My Bible says to drink deeply of the wells of salvation.

So many of us miss the love that is available to us because we believe ourselves to be unworthy of love.

But the beauty of receiving God’s love is that the Bible says before we knew Him, He loved us.

Which duck do you want to be?

The one relaxed in His love and provision swimming in the bright shiny lake or the one drinking from the evaporating puddle?

No matter what religion you are–I’m not here to try and proselytize you–but I would ask: do you do the things you do out of tradition or out of relationship with your creator?

I’ll take relationship over religion any day.

 

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