“Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.” Matthew 25:1-13
If you’ve tried to feed birds with squirrels in the area, you know there can be some competition for the feed that you put out. For many years I’ve done battle with the squirrels to keep them off our bird feeders. No sooner had I “squirrel-proofed” our feeders than I’d look outside and there’d be a big squirrel sitting on one, stuffing seeds into its face so fast that its little paws were just a blur. It was humbling to realize that their brains were only about the size of a walnut as they outsmarted me once again.
Once the squirrels learned a method of getting past my obstacles, and onto one of our feeders, they seemed to remember it forever. And once on a feeder, they could clean out all the feed in just a few minutes.
Something had to be done!
Long before the internet made easy access to information, I discovered what has proved to be a simple, maintenance free solution – a piece of stove pipe. All I had to do was secure it to the feeder pole and stop up both ends of the pipe so the squirrels couldn’t run up inside it. This has worked for over a decade now, yet every once in a while, a squirrel will climb up the pole and see if there is any way to maneuver past the blockade and get onto the feeder.
It hasn’t happened yet.
(But lest you think the squirrels are left out in the cold with no food, the birds tend to kick out enough seed from the feeders onto the ground to keep everyone happy).
I’ve written a bit more about our local squirrels in these posts: Red Squirrel, Unity, Water Source, and Snow Squirrel.
The above verses from the Bible are words which Jesus Himself spoke. One of the basic principles of this story He told is that when He returns, some people will be ready to enter into paradise with Him, and some will not. And once the door is closed, no one else is getting in. It will be too late.
That is sobering. Jesus said that no one but God the Father knows when Jesus is coming back. It could be a whole lot sooner than most people think. If you’ve never gotten right with God before, I hope you will. Please see Got God?
Have a great day.