It’s been quite a few years since I took a quiet and relaxing ride in my kayak on Buena Vista Lake, but I remember it well. The sun was shining, and it was beginning to get warm. I had taken my camera just in case I saw some interesting wildlife, and started on my little "adventure."
Not too long after I began, I came across a small duck house in one of the coves. As I paddled closer, I could see a female Wood duck nestled inside with her head leaned out, guarding her eggs. I managed to get close enough to get a beautiful picture of her just before she flew the nest.
In case you didn’t know, Wood ducks are amazing. They can fly up to 30 mph, and they sometimes hatch two broods per season. But the most interesting fact is that sometimes another duck will lay their eggs in its nest. And instead of kicking out the eggs, the female Wood duck will sit on them and hatch them herself. She will actually raise another duck's hatchlings.
I have often thought about the pretty wood duck, and how noble it seems to hatch an invader's eggs. Then I thought about the many mothers that I’ve had in my life. Many women have taken the time to encourage and support, love, care, and guide me through life.
While none of them could ever take the place of my mother, I thank God for the women who saw the opportunity to be used by the Lord in another person's life, and even in its smallest measure, chose to do so.
In Colossians 3:12–15, the Bible tells us to "Put on then, as God’s, chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another, and, if one has a complaint against the other, forgiving each other: as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which bonds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which, indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful."
That little wood duck had it right. What about you? Many young people will come and go in our life, and how we choose to influence them may ultimately determine an important part of who they become.
You may not have children of your own or maybe they have grown and left the nest, but there are still those who need a loving hand, a kind word, and an open ear. As a Christian, that is what the Lord has commanded us to do, and to be thankful while we do it!
