One of the highlights of our trip was our visit to the Two Rivers Wild Animal Park. Situated in Huntington, Nova Scotia, it is home to many of the native creatures of Cape Breton. It isn’t a typical zoo, however. Rather, most of the animals in this park are rescue animals that cannot be released into the wild, and care has been taken to create a large and natural environment for each creature.
Unfortunately, “natural environment” also means thousands of hiding places, and the animals were often hard to find; and on one notable occasion, the sought-for animals were actually not in their pen…
The map indicated it was the bunny pen, but after searching the enclosure for about 10 minutes, we told ourselves the rabbits were hiding and moved on. A bit farther down, however, we were startled on three separate occasions by the sight of a rabbit feeding in the grass along the footpath. These bunnies were obviously not wild, for they hopped along slowly, turning this way and that, as if posing for the many pictures that we were taking. In the end, we realized that the only reason we hadn’t found rabbits in the bunny pen was that they weren’t actually even in their pen…
Too bad we didn’t think to ask the zoo keepers about the bunnies…We could have saved ourselves the 10 minutes we spent searching the bunny pen…
It is no secret that life brings us plenty of opportunities to make decisions. Some are innocent things, such as, “where will we go on vacation this year?” Or “What should I do this afternoon?” Because we are all human, it is in our nature to seek the answers on our own: “Well I’ve always wanted to visit Australia…” or “The basement sure needs to be cleaned!”
Sometimes the decisions we are required to make involve troubled times. Here again we tend to seek our own, logical answers: Lost that job? Pay a few visits to JobGym, shoot off a few resumes, go on unemployment! Car problems? Go out and buy a new one, and be sure to get the make and model that you have always wanted, no matter what the cost. You owe it to yourself! Got sore knees? Find an orthopedic surgeon who will do knee surgery!
These solutions are all very logical. The problem is, sometimes our “logical” solutions may not be the best ones for us. In the end, the knee surgery only aggravated the knee pain. JobGym didn’t have jobs for you, and you weren’t eligible for unemployment. The car of your dreams resulted in significant debt. So did that trip to Australia, and the basement flooded before you could get the cleaning done…
The point is, when we follow after the “logical” solution, the results aren’t always what we would envision them to be. It is like we are searching the “bunny pen” when there are actually no bunnies in the pen at all!
Just like the empty bunny pen didn’t mean no bunnies, however, our lack of positive outcomes doesn’t necessarily mean the solutions aren’t there. It just means that our “logic” isn’t broad enough to find them. It means we are searching in all the wrong places.
Where is the right place to look? Solomon, the world’s wisest man, tells us to seek “wisdom”: “Get wisdom; get insight;…Do not forsake her, and she will keep you; love her, and she will guard you. The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom…” (Prov. 4:5-7 ESV).
In other words, in order to ensure that we always make the right decisions in life, we should seek God’s counsel. The good news is, the Bible tells us this wisdom is free for the asking: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” (James 1:5 ESV).
God doesn’t mind telling you which car is the right one to buy. He is happy to let you know if that knee surgery is right for you, and as the Creator of the universe, He can “create” just the right job for you if you seek His wisdom to know where to look. In the same way, He will provide insight as to where and when to take that vacation, and even if you should take it at all!
What do you say, friends? Do we waste our time looking for “bunnies” where there are none? Do we simply write it all off as “no solutions available”? Or do we ask God for the wisdom we need to make the best decisions possible?
I don’t know about you, but I think I’ll ask the zookeeper next time where I might find the bunnies; and I think I’ll consult with the God of the universe as to where to look for the decisions I need to make in life.
In His love,
Lyn
Lynona Gordon Chaffart, Speech-Language Pathologist, mother of two, Author — “Aboard God’s Train — A Journey With God Through the Valley of Cancer”, Author and Moderator for The Nugget, a tri-weekly internet newsletter, andScriptural Nuggets, a website devoted to Christian devotionals and inspirational poems, withAnswers2Prayer Ministries. Follow Lyn on Twitter @lynchaffart.
(To access the entire “Lessons From Cape Breton” mini-series, please click here.)