BABY RABBITS ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR, FIVE ......

Once again I stand in awe and amazement at how great our God is.  We have recently had five new additions to our family.  On the 16^th September our dwarf rabbit gave birth to five little rabbits!  

We got Snowflake (Snowy for short) in January this year.

In April my youngest daughter and I went to the pet shop to buy some rabbit food.  There was a rabbit hutch at the entrance to the pet shop and inside was the cutest little dwarf rabbit.  They allowed my youngest to hold the rabbit and she never put it down again!  After paying for the food and the rabbit we drove home and Frodo joined our family.

My husband has forbidden us to ever set foot in a pet shop again and told us that from now on we have to buy rabbit food from the local super market!

A day before the babies were born Snowy started to pluck her fur out with her mouth and 'spit' it into the tray they slept in.  In some places on her body she had blood spots from pulling the fur out and her little body looked 'denuded'.

On Tuesday when our youngest went to change their water and food before school she gave a shout and we all rushed outside to see five, squirmy little beings wriggling around in the tray covered with the fur that Snowy had pulled from her own body.

As we daily watch these little things grow I marvel at how much detail and thought God put into His creation.  The fact, that purely out of instinct (placed there by God), Snowy knew that she had to pluck her fur out, in order that the babies could be kept warm.  The fact, that they are growing and thriving means that she is feeding them on a regular basis, and yet no-one has shown her what to do. We were privileged to watch her feeding them one morning.

Way back at the beginning of creation God said "Let the land produce living creatures ......God made ...all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds.  And God saw that it was good." (Genesis 1:24,25)

As I watch this miracle of birth and growth unfolding daily my heart echoes what the Psalmist said:

"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good.  

His love endures forever.

To Him alone who does great wonders,

His love endures forever.

And who gives food to every creature

His love endures for ever.

(Psalm 136)

PROUD YOUNGEST DAUGHTER AND DADDY RABBIT

THE HARDEST THING ABOUT BEING A MOTHER

One of the hardest things for me as a mother is the fact that I sometimes struggle to not allow my children’s attitudes to rob me of my own joy of living.

Their times of moodiness, their fighting, their lack of showing any appreciation for what they have can sometimes rob me of my joy in living.  I find myself coming home at the end of a day, driving into the driveway, switching the car off and not having the courage or the energy to get out the car and enter the house.

All I want to do, with every fibre of my being, is to drive straight out the driveway again and just keep on going.

The thought of the sheer monotony of having to cook supper, which will be eaten within minutes with no real appreciation, then having to wash the dishes and pack away, nagging the children to help, coupled with all the other responsibilities of  having children, just overwhelms me and I want to push my foot down on the accelerator and just get out of there!

It is at times like this that I find myself repeating the words of a song by Don Francisco “Love is not a feeling, it is an act of the will”.  It is a song about the love between a husband and a wife but the words are just so appropriate to what I am feeling in that moment!

“You could never imagine it could turn out so rough

You give and give and give, still it’s never enough”

And then there are the times when they are unhappy and hurting because they are struggling with friendship issues or personal challenges and their hurt overwhelms me and I long to take their pain away and would willingly carry it for them if I could and I have to struggle not to let their pain rob me of my own joy of living.

I carry on singing the same song as I remember the One who did take the world’s pain and suffering upon Himself:

“Jesus didn’t die for you because it was fun

He hung there for love because it had to be done

And despite of the anguish, His word was fulfilled”

I then think of His words “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28) and “The Lord is my helper” (Hebrews 13:7)  and “The Lord is my strength and my song” (Isaiah 12:2) and these beautiful words in Isaiah 61 “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, and He bestows on me the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair”.

And as I sit and reflect on all these things, my foot slowly lifts off the accelerator, and I remember again that my joy does not depend on any external circumstances, or on my feelings and emotions – “God, alone, is my joy and my delight” (Psalm 43:4).

“Love is not a feeling”  can be heard on http://www.elyrics.net/read/d/don-francisco-lyrics/love-is-not-a-feeling-lyrics.html

KEEPING OUR HEADS ABOVE THE PAVEMENT

“Did you hear about the rose that grew from a crack in the concrete? Proving nature’s laws wrong, it learned to walk without having feet. Funny, it seems that by keeping its dreams; it learned to breathe fresh air. Long live the rose that grew from concrete when no one else even cared. You see you wouldn’t ask why the rose that grew from the concrete had damaged petals. On the contrary, we would all celebrate its tenacity. We would all love its will to reach the sun. Well, we are the rose – this is the concrete – and these are my damaged petals.”

 -Tupac Shakur 

I came across the above quote on the blog site “takingthemaskoff”.   The blog is entitled LOST AND NEVER FOUND:  AN ALCOHOLIC’S UNKNOWN STORY.

It is an incredibly well written piece and if you, or anyone you know, suffers from a mental illness or an addiction – depression, alcoholism, cutting, anorexia, gambling etc – this blog is definitely worth reading.  http://takingthemaskoff.com/2014/08/19/lost-and-never-found-an-alcoholics-unknown-story/comment-page-2/#comment-982

Just realized what a superfluous statement that is “if you, or anyone you know, suffers …….”

I don’t think there is anyone in the world today who isn't suffering or who doesn't  know someone who is suffering.

The majority of us have bruised leaves and we are all striving to keep our heads up off the pavement.

I look at the images above and marvel at the sheer determination and tenacity of these plants.  They have managed to grow and flourish despite the most severe odds stacked against them.

Despite the fact that they have no background, no knowledge of their parental seed, no grounding, no good role models they have still succeeded in growing into the most beautiful flowers that bring joy to most people who see them.

They have embraced the little they have – oxygen, sunshine and rainwater supplied by God – and have grown and flourished.

They have concentrated on growing every day instead of filling their days with regret and anger and bitterness as to where they have been placed!  Or constantly asking "why me?"  "Why could I not have been planted in beautiful fertile soil instead of just being dropped haphazardly onto the pavement and left there alone?"

I wish more of us could be like these plants and flowers. 

Thanking God every day for what we do have and making the most of what we have been given. Continually looking up towards the Son.

Not looking at others and judging how they are doing, or being envious because it seems that they have more than we have.

But just striving to grow into the person God created us to be and in that way bring joy to those who pass us by.

Below is a link to a video that everyone should watch at least once in their life time.

"learned to walk without having feet"

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10153154817558902&set=vb.672878901&type=2&theater

 Photos courtesy of google!