Porcupine

I saw him on the grass as I was biking home in the twilight... a porcupine.  He (she?) was on the grass right off of the trail.  We both stopped what we were doing and stared at each other.  I'm sure the blinking lights on my bike were mesmerizing... he let out a sound.  I had never heard a porcupine sound before.  Like a crazy person, I talked to him... told him I was thankful to have gotten to see him tonight, that I was glad that being out later-than-intended had met with this great reward, and I told him that Jesus made him.  He replied by using his back feet to scratch his belly and his chest, then he bumbled away. First he tried to climb up an evergreen tree.  His forelegs held on to the lowest branch while his back legs scuffled the bark trying to get some traction.  No luck.  After about a minute he gave up... scratched again, let out another sound.  Then he bumbled along towards me, then veered off onto the trail and walked out of sight.  Now I was the one mesmerized watching him... I stayed until he was completely out of sight.  Though I have seen some great porcupines in the wild before, I had never had quite this kind of variety show before.  It was delightful.

So why was I so excited about a moaning, awkward, non-tenacious creature like this?  To understand my thrill, you must understand something else.  My parents had a pet porcupine before I was born.  Albert was found as a baby, starving in the garden.  My dad, always kind to animals, nursed him back to health with patience and gentleness.  In return Albert looked to my dad as his mother.  So, having heard those stories from forever, I've always had a special place for the little critters, even though I almost never saw one in the wild when I was growing up.  Then, in the days after my dad died, a porcupine hung around the farm.  And it reminded me of the goodness and kindness and gentleness in my dad.  It also reminded me of the kindness of another Father, whom I believe gave the porcupine as a gift to our family in those most difficult of days.  Evidence that even if it was a long time ago, something special and unique and happy happened in our lives... and a wonderful memory was born.

So now, spotting a porcupine gives me a thankful nostalgia, for the father who loved a starving little critter back to life, and another Father who fervently does the same.  

Spring

Let me tell you about a typical Canadian "spring" day I experienced.  Walked to school in the sunshine; walked home in a snowstorm... but the sun was still shining.  On the way home I saw both a (yes, a - single, one) car covered in snow (all others weren't), and the first tinge of green in the partially snow covered grass.  A typically Albertan Spring day... winter and summer, dying and living, both alive in the same moment.  To those not from here, it seems impossible.    

Spring has been hard coming this year in Alberta... unseasonably cold with lots of snow (For emphasis, I'm still working on this post April 14th and we got another dump of snow today... and again now that it's the 24th).  In fact, it can be hard to believe that Spring is coming at all.  But I have faith that it is coming, for spring has followed every winter that has come before.  Because of this faith, I can see signs everywhere that winter is about to give way to new life.  I see it in longer days, buds forming on dead branches, and grass that offers a tinge of colour.  I can even see it in big wet snowflakes.   All circumstances further strengthen my hope because every minute sign announcing spring's arrival is met with anticipation, and these sightings in turn build my faith that it will be here soon.  It is a wonderful positive feedback system.

However, it's made me think ... I wish that I believed in God the way that I believe in Spring.

The truth is, He is more impending than the seasons, more reliable than the sun, and more faithful than the birds that return year after year.  

Though I feel the exploration of this idea is far from finished, I also feel like it's time to post anyways... But I do want to say that I am thankful for a Son that shines in the storms.