"There's something in the garage," said my husband. And from the tone and emphasis on the word "something," I knew he meant that the "something" was alive. Sure enough, he was right. Time and investigation revealed that a chipmunk had discovered our stash of cracked corn and sunflower seeds intended for the birds during the winter months. But it was spring now, and about 30 pounds of the supply of bird food was simply sitting there in the garage. After all, we didn't want to contribute to lazy birds who didn't want to find their own food when it was abundantly available in the spring.

But that pesky little chipmunk sure was willing to risk life and limb to get that food. Time after time, he returned for more, even when it meant making a mad dash up out of the bag and running past a large man to safety. We didn't want to throw the food away, we didn't want to buy a special container to keep the chipmunk out, and we surely didn't want to risk surprising the little fellow and having him run up our legs or something equally disturbing, so we decided to generously share that stash of food with the birds, even though it was spring. And the sooner, the better. So my husband heaped generous portions of the cracked corn and sunflower seed on all of the railings of our deck. We then waited to see if the birds would even be interested.

Before long, a few little birds arrived and were delighted with the "free food." And then the mourning doves came and took their share. Next, came a beautiful red-headed woodpecker! (Yes, a woodpecker sat down and dined on cracked corn and sunflower seeds on our deck!) And then, to our surprise and delight, a big, fat squirrel arrived! Living in town for the last ten years, we'd never witnessed a squirrel in our yard. Imagine that. There it was--on our deck for our watching pleasure! And it made the squirrel so happy. Mmmmmmm . . . there's nothing like free cracked corn and sunflower seeds for lunch! And the next morning the squirrel returned for more. What a wonderful feast for our eyes--to watch God's creatures enjoying our gift of food. It's better than television anytime!

When I consider that bird food and compare it to the eternal food of God's Word, it makes me consider how often I might be storing up the food of God's Word, waiting for a more opportune time to share it . . . waiting for a time which seems more "right" to me. But all the while, there are those who really desire that food--those who would risk a lot in order to get more of it. And here I have it (God's Word) in abundance, just waiting for a better time to share it! And look what happens when I do share it . . . those I would never have expected arrive, feast upon it and return for more! Wow! That's one of the powerful things about food--be it physical food or spiritual food. If we will just share it, those who feast upon it will come back for more!