Happy Friday everyone! I have a different kind of story to share in pictures today...if you are extremely squeamish about nature, then you may want to skip over this...but I promise you it has a happy ending.
Yesterday afternoon I noticed Blackie down near the shoreline of Still Waters Pond, looking intently at something on the ground. So focused was he on his prey that he never even noticed me quietly sneaking up for a closer look, and this is what I saw:
Yes, that is a mole! Click HERE for a good description from the National Wildlife Federation.
I guess I just discovered that Blackie is a fierce warrior and a good hunter! At least, that's how it appears right now...but keep reading....jpg)
Blackie kept moving to higher ground and looking for a good place to sit down and hopefully enjoy what he had captured...
Sunshine came over to see what all the commotion was about...
He tried to stalk him again, but, where did he go???
In thinking about the term, "making a mountain out of a molehill"... I couldn't help but think about all the times that we humans tend to get all worked up over things that probably really aren't all that important in the grand scheme of life. We think that "our way is the only way, or the best way"...and we just can't let go of our own self importance in order to allow others who may disagree with us any grace. We try to build up our "mountain" from a little molehill by enlisting the opinions of others who agree with us and making our case bigger and bigger so that anyone who dares to contend with us will be put to shame by our greatness.
Proverbs 10:12 NKJV
12 Hatred stirs up strife,
But love covers all sins.
Sadly, all too often in creating this big mountain we only stir up strife and people begin to take sides and in defending their own point, people who once may have valued and cared for one another deteriorate into people who barely tolerate each other, if at all. Families and friendships are hurt and destroyed, and nothing of any great value can ever come out of such disagreement.
Yes, I do understand that there some points in life that we should never waver upon, but I like the old saying, "don't throw the baby out with the bathwater". In other words, don't get so caught up in your personal stance that you neglect to preserve and protect relationships that are much more valuable and vulnerable. Is being "right" really more important than family and dear friends?
I do know that there are some relationships that are toxic and probably need to be severed, but that's not really what I'm talking about here. And I don't want to "make a mountain out of a molehill" by trying to explore this subject too much here...but seeing that mole and his determination to survive got me thinking about these things today.
Here's what Isaiah the Prophet had to say about mountains...
3
Isaiah 40:3-5 NKJV
The voice of one crying in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord;
Make straight in the desert
A highway for our God.
4 Every valley shall be exalted
And every mountain and hill brought low;
The crooked places shall be made straight
And the rough places smooth;
5 The glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
And all flesh shall see it together;
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
On that day, all of our grandiose ideas and thoughts and self-importance will be 'brought low"...and "the Glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together."... On that day, there's only one thing that really matters...where do I stand with God? Have I repented of my own self-righteousness and accepted God's free offer of salvation found only in His Son, Jesus Christ?
John 14:6 NKJV
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through Me."
Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV
8 "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves;
it is the gift of God,
9 not of works, lest anyone should boast."
This is the only mountain I will stand on and not waver...my salvation comes only through my faith in Jesus Christ...and it is His free gift to me and anyone who will believe...and none of my self-important ideas or works have anything to do with it. Without Christ, I am nothing...I am lower than a mole in the dirt. My big mountains and grand ideas will NOT get me into heaven...Only Jesus...and that is the only truth that will set us all free from our bondage to grand ideas and big mountains and worthless schemes.
I hope you are all standing with me on this mountain!
Poor Blackie, he lost his prey after all his stalking. Loved your message, we certainly do tend to make a mountain out of a molehill more often than not. It's the 'world' in us, thankfully we have a Lord who extends His right hand to us, to pull us up and set us on solid ground. ♥
ReplyDeleteAmen, Pamela! Any mountains we might make of molehills seem so silly in light of eternal truth. Why would we allow our opinions to ruin our relationships? It's all because of ego, isn't it? I'll choose to stand up on the solid rock of Jesus and like you, I won't waver.
ReplyDeleteGreat photos of the kitty and mole escapades, too! Blessings!
Poor Blackie! I was going to say we need Blackie here because we have a lot of moles, but bummer that it got away.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes - I'm with you on that mountain!
I can not even begin to tell you how many times that I have made a mountain out of a molehill. Crazy, silly things that certainly did not deserve the slightest worry from me. I think I can sometimes be an over thinker and therefore, I can fully imagine beyond what the imagination should think! lol. Thankfully, when I do, I keep it to myself to avoid anyone from thinking the obvious....OVER THINKER! Blackie was just doing what she knows to do. sadly she did not win this challenge. Thankful that God knows me well and He probably shakes His head when my molehills grow to fast. We have a lot of moles around here and those little rascals are hard to catch.
ReplyDeleteI love the stories and lessons that you share with us. What a blessing you are to me Pamela. I have been so guilty of making mountains out of molehills. I tend to be a worrier, although I'm believe I am getting better about that the older I get.
ReplyDeletePoor Blackie. I feel bad for the loss of the mole.
Blessings and hugs,
Betsy
Amen. There are such good lessons if we take the time to slow down and observe them! I hope he caught that mole later in the day!!! They can make such a mess of our lawns!
ReplyDeleteYes we’ve all exaggerated the significance of small issues, a tendency that stems from our human nature to worry or focus on the negative aspects of situations.
ReplyDeleteThe Bible reminds us to focus on what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and admirable. By doing that we can shift our perspective from that huge mountain we created out of a mole hill, to the peace that God offers.
I enjoyed the play-by-play coverage with Blackie and the mole! ❤️
The furry creature is a mole. No loss. Let 'em keep it and eat it. Free, fresh, wholesome meat. Our JRT's dig 'em up and eat 'em too. Win-win.
ReplyDeleteGood post. Have a wonderful weekend! 💖
Moles are trouble makers. Blackie wasn't hungry enough to hang on to his prey. At least you know he is a good hunter and the mole underground will spread the word (perhaps) to stay out of your yard because of those two cats!! Thanks for sharing the fun!!
ReplyDeleteWonderful message, Pamela. And I love ❤️ Blackie and Sunshine 🌞
ReplyDeleteOh oh you talking me, LOL. On the mole, funny thing is, Huey aka Dragging Belly, catches moles and promptly drops them at the back door for us. Like, "Hey, guys, look what I found!" LOL--have a great day, Pamela.
ReplyDeleteAmen! I can sure relate to making mountains where none exist. I woke this morning asking God to show me what's Right in my life right now v. listening to the what-if's in my head. (Someone said, that's Satan giggling.)
ReplyDeleteI've never seen a mole before, but his/her little feet sticking out of Blackie's mouth grabbed me at the heartstrings.
Yes, I am definitely standing right along side of you.
ReplyDeleteI really like the analogy of the mountain and the mole-hill. I am afraid I tend to make too many mountains out of things that don't matter.
Not crazy about moles and what they do to one's yard. You got fantastic photos of the critter and Blackie.
Have a good weekend.
Sue
Thanks for the lesson it it and the photos.
ReplyDeleteI am happy to hear that the mole go away. Do you know if Blackie has eaten them before?
ReplyDeleteHe probably has, since he is an outdoor cat and always has been. I know I've seen him with lizards in his mouth too. He is well fed with cat food, and he's quite chubby...remember, we thought he was a she and that she was pregnant? He still looks that way! LOL. So I have a feeling he does some hunting and eating throughout the day or night that I am not aware of. And around here there is always something for him to hunt and eat if he so desires. I really have no control over that. He just does what cats do naturally. Now, if he ever becomes an indoor cat that will change, but for now this is what is best for all concerned.
Deleteyay for the mole making it to safety. funny story
ReplyDeleteThis post makes me remember the time when we came to live here. Opposite our house was a huge "empty" field. The falcon used to look for prey, and often found it, and we could see him dive. There was a lot going on, which we couldn't see or hear.
ReplyDeleteIt was in a time we were not able to go on internet (only for science).
It was good not to know everything that was going on in the world. Life was more focussed on "here and now", and guidelines were a lot easier to follow. You knew that if something was the matter between people it needed to be solved, as you would see that person all days of the week, wanted or not. So we had to self-reflect a lot more and evaluate far more if a problem was worth keeping.
So as a cat...I would have decided in those past times to let go of the mole myself....