Pecking Order

Construction on the new Engineering Building has filled the University of Arkansas campus with the sounds of jackhammers, drills, concrete mixers and the clank of a crane hook as it catches on a metal beam. The machines have become such a part of everyday life, that when a noise makes someone turn his head, the rest of us know that they're "not one of us". Walking across the campus with classmates earlier this week, we were acknowledging the fact that spring seems to be in the air. The squirrels were scurrying around under the trees, no longer tucked into the trunks of the trees to keep warm. The bees were buzzing around the bright purple, pink and gold pansies planted in the flower beds. A bluejay scratched in the dirt looking for a bug while others sang in the trees. All of a sudden the sound of hammering made every one of us turn our heads to look. At first, none of us could figure out where the noise was coming from, much less what was making the awful clanging sound. It was as grating against the back of my spine as someone raking fingernails on a chalkboard. The noise stopped for a few seconds and then started up again. Then Sarah started to laugh and pointed.Our eyes followed her finger to where a woodpecker, its head a brilliant shade of red, sat on top of a nearby light pole. His beak was hammering away, trying to gauge a hole in the metal to no avail. Over and over again, he pecked away as the crowd underneath the light pole grew from the three of us to 20 people. We stood for close to 30 minutes watching this poor confused woodpecker. As I glanced around I couldn't help but notice that the light pole sat at the edge of the parking lot, not 5 feet from a creek whose banks were covered in trees! Why in the world the bird didn't fly that short distance to one of the trees was beyond my comprehension.Isaiah 1:19 says that "If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the best from the land." All too often in my faith, I feel like that woodpecker. I'm banging my head against a metal pole and even though I should be able to clearly see that I'm not making any progress, I continue to bang away. And the whole time, Satan is standing at the bottom of the pole laughing and pointing. But waiting patiently, just a few feet away, is God: with has an entire forest of opportunities and rewards: the very BEST for my life! All I have to is look up and see them!