Daily Devotion 22nd September

If, later, they’re still hungry, they work hard at foraging. My six-foot fuschia has been plucked bare below the height of two feet, the height Miriam can jump to, as has a young apple tree. Every damp patch has been dug into by Glinda in search in search of worms.  Sand, kale, and daddy-long-legs, are all considered great delicacies by Valhalla, while my toes, the fence post, and the window ledge have all been tested, and rejected, as potential food by Baloo. When the sun shines, they alternate between sunbathing and sitting in the shade; when it rains, they sit under the garden table. They begrudge neither, simply responding to their circumstances, unconcerned about the future. Smaller birds often come to share in their bounty. Sparrows take down-feathers to line their nests, and a wide range of garden birds steal their corn. The hens see them but make no effort to prevent this wholesale theft. Why would they?

Enjoying the world as they do, they set an excellent example to us as we rush through life trying to save time to pack in more. We even watch television programmes in which people rush to make the perfect eclair or refurbish community centres.

Regretting focusing too hard on “laying up” money is a very common deathbed regret, so much so that half a dozen people have been accredited with saying “Nobody on their deathbed has ever said “I wish I had spent more time at the office””. We know it was Jesus who said, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Turning that around, what you put effort into shows what you treasure, so what have you treasured today that you might regret in the future?