The Owl

Owls have a reputation for being wise... and they may be (wise that is). But I saw one last week that demonstrated "coolness under pressure."

I was sitting on my patio when I heard a cacophony of sound coming from some Hawks. I walked down to the woods where I heard the commotion. I saw an owl surrounded by three young hawks and they were screeching at that owl at a decibel that ruined my meditation time.

After a few minutes, a small murder of crows arrived...they, too, crowed at the owl with unbelievable intensity. All the while, the owl just sits, stares, looks around, and bats his eyes...he eventually flew off with both crows and hawks continuing their gang behavior by smothering him in flight...but you could tell that the owl was unconcerned by their "thugish" actions and seemingly oblivious to their disdain.

How do you handle pressure? At work? At home? Within your relationships?

The Apostle Paul stated that there was a time when he was "hard-pressed on every side." (2Cor 4:8) In an earlier chapter in 2Cor, he revealed that "he was under pressure far beyond his ability to endure" and thought that he would be crushed by his circumstances and swamped by the storm of difficulty he was facing (2Cor 1:8-9) BUT, Jesus delivered him. As he puts it,
"Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead." 2Cor 1:9

If you have people crowing at you today...and trying to push your buttons; or if you feel that your circumstances are a weight too heavy to bear, then do as Paul did and turn things over to Jesus and learn how to rely on Him instead of trust in yourself.