It’s that wonderful season of the year when the weather has finally warmed enough that the patio becomes a mini retreat site.
I frequently find myself there early in the morning for some quiet time of reading, meditation, and prayer. We often return in the evening to read, talk, or catch up on some work projects.
The patio serves as a rest stop when working in the garden or yard, as well.
To many, this place of refuge in the backyard, away from the busy road and frequent stream of walkers and bikers that pass by, may seem a bit boring. Where’s the action? What’s there to do?
Well, on the one hand, that’s the point!
But on the other hand, there’s a great deal going on—if one just looks and observes.
Twenty feet from the patio’s edge hang a couple of birdhouses in the maple tree. At certain times of the day, momma flits in and out of the house with food for her offspring.
And what a variety of birds finds its way in our back yard! I’m certainly no expert in identifying species, but I do recognize cardinals (male and female—incidentally, no confusion there!)…bluejays…wrens…finches…the occasional hummingbird…and more that I don’t know.
Squirrels seem to enjoy the playground that is our yard. The maple not only provides the stability for their homes but doubles as a veritable jungle gym for recreation. They scramble through the limbs, up and down the trunk, chiding one another as they go.
It’s not uncommon for several of these rodents to chase one another from one end of the yard to another and back again until one finds refuge in one of the spruces along the back fence. Are these critters playing or fighting. Or are they like kids who start playing and end up fighting?
Remember those “fire poles” on the playground we tried shimmying up when we were kids? Well, while I certainly don’t appreciate in the least bit, squirrels have an uncanny ability to scale any pole if there’s a bird feeder attached at the top! As if it’s just another fun, challenging apparatus at the park.
Running along and fifteen feet above the north fence line, ComEd has thoughtfully installed a tightrope wire so the squirrels can perfect their aerial acrobatics. I’m sure it happens, but I’ve yet to see one of these guys lose his balance, let alone fall. It’s quite humorous to watch the neighbor’s dog give chase, confident that this time he’ll catch the pesky critter—only for said prey to leap from the ground, racing up the utility pole to the safety of the highwire above. Then with a bit of arrogance in his voice, the squirrel barks at the frustrated hound below, as if to chide, “Na na na na na na!!!”
Somewhere in the yard, rabbits built their nest. In the morning, they’re out scrounging for breakfast, oblivious to the carping squirrels. They don’t even budge when the neighbor dog yelps menacingly at them through the fence. Clearly, rabbits have enough sense to know that for all its bravado, the ferocious canine is powerless to pass the chain-link barrier!
There’s a great deal going on to be observed by looking out.
Or looking down!
Mysteriously, black ants seem to enjoy a jaunt across the patio concrete floor. There’s not a ton of them…not like it’s an infestation or anything. And to this point, we’re not sure where they’re coming from and where they’re going. Sitting in my chair, I watch a few march along in an unorganized path headed in one direction…and a few returning to where they apparently started.
Why? What are they after?
I wonder.
I’ve tried to follow—either direction—but I lose them when they head off the patio slab.
Strange.
Then the other day, finally, I saw ant labor that made sense. From the edge of the patio eight feet away, a small dark blob about the size of a nickel was moving in my direction.
Curious creature that I am (sometimes), I moved closer to observe.
A large insect—some kind of beetle, apparently—had met its demise. Three tiny ants found dinner for their wives and kids, but they needed to get the prize home to divide and store in the family freezer.
The deceased clearly was too large for any one of them to drag on his own. Even too much for two. But three working together made the task manageable!
I watched with fascination as they tugged and pulled together in the same direction. It was as if they’d had a little council meeting, discussed the plan of action, and then joined forces to carry it out. All across the floor they went, never once did one go rogue and try to head in a different direction. The harmony in their efforts was incredible.
Then they came to their first challenge.
The patio floor is divided into four sections, with a gap ¾ of an inch wide and just as deep between each section. From the perspective of an ant, it’s a chasm!
Somehow, the hungry workers needed to carry their prey down into and back out of the chasm.
I watched with interest as two held on from above while one led into the chasm. Once all were down, the three worked together to pull the bug corpse up the other side. And they carried on.
Oddly, they headed toward the garage wall. Along the border, a series of bricks lines the junction of wall and floor. What will they do? How will they manage this?
Watch and see!
As I watched these guys work, I thought of a couple of helpful ideas for life.
“Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.” So exhorted Solomon the Wise (Proverbs 6:6)
First, consider the value of industry…of hard work. Now, admittedly I haven’t the time or patience to follow a single ant around all day to see how he invests his time. But what I can observe is some pretty busy bugs.
By the way, lest I be misunderstood, I’m not advocating being busy just to be busy. I strongly endorse living with a good rhythm of work and rest.
What I do learn from these little guys is the value of staying at the task at hand and seeing it through to completion. It’s a quality that seems to be lacking in many today.
For a few years, I served as a chaplain for a local manufacturing company. The employee turnover rate was pretty high, and I frequently heard the HR personnel bemoan the sorry work ethic of many an employee. It was not uncommon, for example, for a new hire, on the second day of work, to walk out the door during morning break and never return.
“Go the ant, O sluggard….”
Then consider the value of unity in the cause at hand.
Somehow those three little guys agreed that they needed to get said dead bug from point A to point B. They agreed on the task, the route, and the method.
It reminds me of one of the Apostle Paul’s exhortations to the congregation in Ephesus:
I…urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. – Ephesians 4:1-3
In spite of that, some congregations can’t even seem to agree on paint colors or carpet textures.
“Go the ant….”
Closely connected to the need for unity, consider the value of teamwork.
“Teamwork
makes
the dream
work.”
There’s some truth to that, of course. Some biblical wisdom behind it, too.
Take a moment and reflect on how the gospel advanced in the days after Christ’s ascension. For the most part, it was through teamwork.
When it came time to launch the missionary enterprise, God’s Spirit instructed that Paul and Barnabas were to go as a team to the work. (Acts 13:2) When that journey ended, and it was time for the second to begin, a pair of teams headed out. (Acts 15:31-36) In fact, reading Paul’s letters to the various churches, it’s evident that he worked with others everywhere he went.
Not only the examples; consider, too, these appeals:
“I appeal to you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf,”
Romans 15:30, ESV
“You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.”
2 Corinthians 1:11, ESV
“Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel,”
Philippians 1:27, ESV
“Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.”
1 Thessalonians 5:11, ESV
“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”
Hebrews 10:24–25, ESV
To some, I suppose, there’s not much happening out on the patio. Well, there’s certainly much to learn!
