“Millions of trees in the world are accidentally planted by squirrels who bury nuts and forget where they hid them. Do good and forget. It will grow someday.” Anonymous

We can learn so much from nature. Consider the squirrel. He becomes exceedingly busy in the season of Autumn – storing up nuts for the winter to come. His brain is small, but his instinct is telling him to plan ahead. Maybe planning requires a little more than instinct – especially if you forget where you put something. I was talking with my husband about this very thing this morning as we looked at the bird feeder in our yard and watched the squirrels on their usual raid of sunflower seeds and peanuts. By the way, we have the healthiest looking squirrels around. We’ve named one of them Jake, from State Farm, because he looks like he’s wearing khakis. His belly is so full there is a line around his waist. It looks like he’s actually wearing pants. But as usual, I digress.

As we look at the birds we can also learn. Their brains are no larger than a pea, but because of God’s divine creation, birds will carry seeds to different areas and save them for later. Instead, those seeds are nurtured by the Creator of all things and bring forth more of the same. My scientific and avid outdoorsman, husband tells me that blue jays are known for transporting small acorns and planting them in a straight line – resulting in a string of oak trees in the future. I learn something new from my husband every day.

When we plant, we don’t always reap results. Sometimes it takes longer than our lifetime to see them, but there is usually growth at some point in time. The seeds we plant today will be nurtured by God and bear fruit in their season. It may not be a tree or a flower or a beneficial stalk of grain, but something will come from the seed eventually. God encourages us to plant every day. Those seeds consist of kind words, helping others, staying firmly rooted in His Word and being flexible enough to bend when necessary. Our brains are much bigger than the birds and squirrels, but we don’t always use them to their fullest capacity.