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Hello Again Blog-Nog Friends,

This weekend the Decker boys (now grown-up men) have been regaling me with their statistics and prognosis of that annual, All-American Gladiator conflict known as the Super Bowl.

And take sides we must!  No time for indecision as to which team to cheer for!  Which brings us to the old rhyme about agreement and indecision:

What a waste of time and pleasure lack of agreement and indecision levies on us.  The robins made the journey to town twice.  The first time worrying and fretting all the way over whether to choose a plum or plain bun.

What a picture of this earth – full of doubting, undecided earthlings.  Even the daily life of little creatures presents the same dilemma.  No wonder the Scripture records in Joel 3:14, “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision.…”

And where else can you find a more passionate vocal example of “plum or plain” than the opposing sides of a packed American football stadium, especially at Super Bowl time.

I say “American football” because in England football is what Americans call soccer.

This man-made sporting fever for football must be catching, as Kevin and I have just observed what we called the “Crows’ Super Bowl,” – a frolicking contest Kevin and I witnessed from our bay-window kitchen table.

It all began when I tossed out some left-over organic tortilla shells on our back lawn.  They were the big ten-inch size, baked crisp, the sight of which threw the early morning breakfast crow-crowd into a state of shock and awe – somewhat like a football team sizing up a bigger adversary.  Our local crow families swooped in from the southwest and northeast.  They appeared within seconds of our putting out food, although they came from far across the adjacent fields.

In over ten years, we’ve never seen them fight over food.  I’ve read where crows are considered the most intelligent of birds and have a well developed social structure – they can count to at least three or four, learn new information quickly, and communicate using a  complex language.  Popped popcorn is a great favorite with our crows.  It’s hilarious to watch them fill up until they have a small popcorn ball on the end of their beaks, prepare for lift-off over the fence, and then cross the fields to what we assume is their Crow Movie Theater.

The tortilla menu turned out to be no fast-food visit.  The crows tentatively surveyed one tortilla with much apprehension, not sure just how to approach the giant “buffet” in front of them.  Then one brave fellow stepped on it with his foot, causing the big round giant to flip, which sent all the crows jumping backwards in fright.  “Still…we came to eat; and this has been the right fly-in cafe for over ten years.  What are we supposed to do with this over-sized entree?” (We could well-imagine the crows’ conversation.)

While the crows stood in indecision, evaluating the round UFO (Unidentified Flour Object), Mr. Squirrel, who lives in a nearby tree, leaped into the center of the tortilla, breaking it into chunks, with one large chunk landing in the midst of the confused crows. Then, like a bossy referee, with the swish of his bushy tail he signaled, “Let the game begin!”

With the “tortilla football” now in pieces that could be carried, the Northeast Crows swiftly huddled up opposite the Southwest Crows.  Then, with both “teams” lined up across from each other, the Northeast Crows made a move that resembled Knute Rockne‘s 1924 backfield “shift” (used by the famous “Four Horsemen of Notre Dame”).  But an air of caution and indecision kept the backfield in motion, carefully edging towards the pieces of tortilla.

Then, suddenly and without warning, the “center” for the Northeast Crows “snapped” the tortilla ball to his quarterback, who promptly fumbled it to a blitzing Southwest defender – who then flipped the “ball” in the air as if terrified of it.  It was any player’s ball now, flipping everywhere, and getting smaller by the toss.  Excitement was growing with the realization that the once-immovable-object was not only fallible, but now even edible!  And soon it was totally gone!

Meanwhile, Mr. Squirrel, who was sitting on a mound of more crispy giant tortillas, was helping himself to breakfast instead of calling penalties for off-sides and pass interference.  But the revelation had hit home with both the northeast and southwest football teams. It was “come and dine” time once more.  And with two hungry crow teams bearing down upon him, Mr. Squirrel hastily vacated the tortilla breakfast stack and ran up his tree.

In no time, the crows took off with huge pieces from the mound of tortilla shells held firmly in their beaks and looking like small satellite dishes.  “An upgrade for their Crow theater,” I suggested. “More like radar mounted on AWAC planes,” Kevin added.  Laughing together, we watched them disappear across the hilly fields.

Dale, my forever sweetheart husband, loved to study the antics of our crow visitors.  He had a tender spot for them, for, as he would say, “The Lord used the ravens to feed the prophet Elijah when he was hiding from the wrath of King Ahab.”  Yes, that intriguing account in I Kings 2-6, where the ravens brought Elijah bread and meat morning and evening, put the crows in a special category for Dale.  He would have loved their Super Bowl antics and their ultimate victory.  Moreover, the Crow’s Super Bowl stirred within me these thoughts:

How many times do we, God’s children, falter in indecision, afraid to reach out and touch what seems like a giant before us.  Like the crows, we come to the place of sustenance that we know well, and trust for good things, only to find a strange, giant object.  We gaze at it in disappointment and confusion, when all the time it is manna from heaven.  We just need to reach out in faith and taste it.  The Lord’s table serves only that which is good for His children.

As David wrote in Psalm 34:8 – “Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusteth in thee.”

So, dear reader friends, let’s reach out in faith and taste “Heaven’s tortillas.”  So whether your Super Bowl turns out “plum or plain,” remember the great conflict of the Ages is already won!  And the MVP is Jesus!

Cheering For You….

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Christian Mother Goose®

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