I sat on the park bench, seeking respite from the every day. My spirit was soothed with the sun on my cheek, the cool breeze blowing through my hair, the chirping overhead, the rippling of the water. . .Aaaaaaaah. I could have sat there all day.
But, as always, duty calls and just as I started convincing myself to resume the day's activities, a trio of ducks came waddling along. They were quiet yet very close, so close I stayed put, watching attentively, wondering why they would be crossing my path at the precise moment I was to leave. One seemed to be the leader while the other two were content to follow, moving along in their funny, distinctively duck way. It struck me how they could have cared less whether I was sitting there or not. They were fowl with a mission, but set apart from humans in some important ways. They didn't worry about making the best use of their time. They had no concern how they were affecting the lives of other ducks they came in contact with. They didn't think they looked odd or even give a thought to the impressions of others, especially me, their audience du jour. They did what ducks do, what they were created to do.
I found them sort of beautiful, singular in purpose, toddling on by me. Did they know of the patch of brilliant blue on their sides? Had they ever seen the perfectly shaped curls on their tails? And if they had, had it changed their behavior at all? Did they ever stand still wondering what God was calling them to do? Did they worry about anything at all besides eating, sleeping, swimming and waddling?
So today I am thankful for a little group of ducks, reminding me to be who I am and to forget about the expectations of others. I appreciate my feathered friends who taught me to move along doing what I was created to do, in the way I was equipped to do it.
And really now, is there anyone who doesn't find a duck cute as the dickens? There you go, reason enough to be a duck.
Join Iris at Sting My Heart for more Thankful Thursday posts.
Thanks to garth.kennedy for the duck photo.
14 comments:
Thank you for sharing your post touched my heart. I loved the story of the ducks and picture. Beautiful. May the Lord bless you this week and always.
In his endless love,
Angel
Thanks for making me smile, bless you.
Thank you for sharing such a sweet story. I love how God speaks to us, even in the most unexpected ways. Blessings to you this Thankful Thursday!
Isn't it great what we can learn from nature? This was so sweet, and equally well-written. A pleasure to read.
Thanks for the smiles this a.m.! I wanna be a duck....too!
Diane
quack quack me duck too, ha ha loved this will always think of you when I see a duck
Isn't it funny how God uses things to teach us. This was great. Thanks for sharing. Blessings on your day. Quack Quack!
Ahhhhh. To be a duck.
This soothed my soul today, Tami. I think I'll try to spend some time today being my most duck-like. That is, quietly just being. Not worrying about anything. Just being the me that God made me to be.
Thanks for the inspiration. And the cute photo, too.
Me too me too! :) I LOVE this Tami. I think it's so fun when God takes something so seemingly simple and uses it to remind us of something profound. Why do we worry about those things so much? This is great... a perfectly timed post. Thanks friend!
That was wonderful...and so cool the way you illustrated our own uniqueness...we do need to be duck-like and perform for an audience of One...or else we're liable to quack up!
Sorry, couldn't resist:-)
But seriously, that needs to get passed around the blogosphere...I may be back to link...
Thanks for posting on this. You made me smile. :) What a great reminder to be who we are and forget the expectations of others.
Love it! Ever see the movie from our era.........Howard the Duck? I don't know why I thought of that. But I did really like your thoughts.
I think that we always try to please everyone around us, but we know we can't. It usually leads me to be frustrated with self.
How like God to teach us lessons from nature.
Thank you so much for sharing your thankfulness with us and giving us a life lesson.
Be blessed today and always.
This was a blessing to read.
Have a great weekend.
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