Yesterday morning at church Pastor-Lou quoted: ‘We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure…’ (Hebrews 6:19). She told an Andrew Ollerton story. He was in a friend’s boat anchored for the night off the south-west coast of England. In the night the wind picked up, the waves rose and he became anxious. He says:
‘I woke my friend the captain and expressed my concerns. Having assessed the situation, he looked me in the eye and said: Have you seen the size of the anchor? Go back to bed and sleep!’
Farmer Fred put his scarecrow in the middle of his field of wheat. The crow colony had their crow conference. Leader Clancy crow stood on a high branch. ‘Traditional wisdom says that we should keep away from farmer Fred’s field.’ The colony cawed together in agreement. Generations of crows had known that scarecrows were there to scare crows.
Young Cuthbert crow flew up and stood beside Clancy: ‘Farmer Fred only puts out the scarecrow if there is good food there.’ The scarecrow isn’t a scare; it’s a sign. Instead of fearing we should be feasting.’
This morning, I read the story of Balaam… Balaam’s riding his faithful old donkey along the road. An angel with a drawn sword stands in their way. Donkey sees Angel; Balaam doesn’t. Avoiding Angel, Donkey walks into a field. Balaam beats Donkey.
Angel appears in front of them again in a narrow path between two walls. Donkey sees Angel, Balaam doesn’t. Donkey crushes Balaam’s foot against a wall. Balaam beats Donkey.
Angel appears again. Donkey can’t avoid Angel so lies down. Balaam beats Donkey again. Donkey says, ‘Why do you keep beating me?’ Eventually Balaam sees the angel and understands…
Musing… Where is wisdom? …Do I fear the storm or trust the size of the anchor? …Does traditional wisdom scare me or do I see hidden opportunities? …Do I perceive some to be stupid talking donkeys, or may they see things that I can’t?
malcolmsmusings.org 