Lessons From Little Ducks

My friend and I were talking about community this morning. A lack of community was the chief topic of our discussion.We longed for the days where a community gathered and did things for each other without a thought. The kind of community that only seems to exist on television shows. This is a sad state of affairs considering the repeated call to love one another Jesus gives us in the New Testament.

This may shock some, but I have a tattoo. Inked into my right bicep is a little lamb and the words John 21 : 15 - 17. In this passage, Jesus questions Simon Peter about his love for Jesus. Simon responds that he loves him. Jesus impresses on him that the manifestation of that love is in the care of His lambs. If we love God, then we are to tend to each other.

Since I moved around a lot growing up, I had a hard time connecting to my peers. It seemed pointless. Just when I would get my bearings in one place, I would come home to my parents sitting on the couch together with that look. So, I found ways to entertain myself. I got very close to my younger brother. Still, I needed other relationships beyond my family.

I had a few friends over the years, but I guarded myself. If I didn't move, they often ended the relationship. I decided that it was just the way it was for some people. I also decided that meant not trusting just everyone. I felt fairly self-sufficient upon moving to Cambridge. I met some people and hung out. I thought that was enough. I did things for people but I only let them into my bubble so far. Until I met my husband, I felt this surface relating was enough, not satisfying but enough to keep that hunger at bay.

That hunger was there for a reason. It needed to be filled. There is a great deal that we get from our relationship with God. However, Adam was lonely even in his complete intimacy with God. After my husband moved out, there was an empty feeling in my apartment, in my soul. I prayed and read my bible I read book after book. Yet, I needed something else.

One evening, I was writing in my journal and swatting mosquitoes. The reality wasn't meeting up with what I had pictured in my head. The incessant buzzing and ensuing swatting was at its pitch when I decided that it was time to go. Then, I saw them. Four little ducklings stood on the shore of the river across from my mosquito infested spot. I watched as the fuzzy, yellow figures inched their way into the river. They huddled in a sort of awkward four square dance. I laughed. Then, as they made it totally in the water, the current began to pull on the lead one. It was a strong current for such a little duckling. I watched as the others quickly caught up and completed the square formation again. In this manner, the four of them made it all the way to my side of the river.

That was when it struck me. If they had tried to go one at a time or even in a line, they would have been swept away. But together, they were able to keep from drifting too far down the river. They could fight the current with a lot less effort put forth by each one. I learned a lesson from those little ducklings that evening. I began to open up to these friends I had kept at the fence of my inner property for years. And an amazing thing happened. My load was lightened. Even in the sharing of their burdens with me, the load seemed to get lighter still.

I am not saying there hasn't been pain along the way, but it is good to know that when something happens I have people to call on. I almost got pulled under once before and I never want to go there again.