I’ve been reading my devotional Bible for many years. And this is the title of one of the devotions that I’ve read many times over.
This particular Bible is a couples Bible that I’ve owned and the devotions center around creating healthy marriages.
While I’ve read the story many times, the last few weeks the associated scripture came to life.
Song of Songs 2:15 states ‘Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom’… and the devotion speaks about things in marriages that can become ‘pesky little varmints’ that can erode the very fabric of our relationships.
The last few weeks, I’ve encountered my own ‘pesky little varmint’ in real life.
Early in my planting season, my dad had brought some plants, and included were corn. If I were to be honest, I had no intention of planting corn – I had no idea about how to plant them or grow them. Even though I’d say corn is one of my favorite foods. Let’s stick to the things I already knew how to take care of.
I stepped away from helping him and came back to the little corn seedlings being planted. He planted them in such a way that they bordered my fence and some other flowers. I had no idea what to expect and they were only about two – three inches in height.
As they grew, I shared a picture with a good friend. She had grown corn before and explained that they needed to be planted in such a way and that I might not actually get formed corn cobs. I was a bit disappointed, but as I’ve shared before, this season has been about the lessons, me watering and letting God do what He does.
As they continued to grow, the bees started actively pollinating and they were growing. Yay! They had grown to over six feet tall and many ears of corn.
As they continued to grow, the squirrels started coming out. The squirrel figured out how to choose the most ready of the bunch and pull it off. He even seemed to make sure that it was in a spot that I would see the remnants of the corn trash that he left for me.
Out of frustration, I started pulling the corn off, telling myself that I needed to make sure I got even one. They weren’t quite ready – they needed a few more days to be filled in – but unfortunately if I waited a few more days, the squirrel would have had his fill and I would not have tasted one.
Two separate friends had shared that they’d grown corn in the past and never even got to enjoy one. I determined that was not going to be my story. I ate partially ready corn – beautifully formed cobs – just not fully plumped up yet.
I found myself almost daily fighting with a squirrel, who seemed to know exactly how to get under my skin. When I caught him, he simply moved to higher ground, stared directly at me, while he ate my corn.
It was then that Song of Songs 2:15 came alive – and I’ll say it in my version ‘catch for us the squirrels, the little squirrels that ruin the garden, our garden that is in bloom’.
Friends, whether it’s a relationship or a garden, we have to catch the pesky little varmints, otherwise they will take things we least expect. As the devotion concludes: ‘it’s easy to get distracted by those little foxes and ignore the work it takes to tend to the bigger weeds and varmints that threaten a marriage. But in the end, tending to the beautiful vineyard of a marriage is worth all the time and trouble it takes to keep the critters out’.
For me, I determined that I’d just eat partially ready corn this year, and the commitment it would take to grow corn and allow them to fully bloom isn’t worth it, but alas… corn.. and relationships? Two very different things. I’m now more aware that I need to be diligent to make sure varmints don’t erode the fabric of my relationships.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you that I can now laugh at my squabbles with the squirrel, but realizing there is a much deeper lesson here. Please help me to be mindful of my relationships and that I don’t inadvertently allow varmints to enter that will come and eat away at them while I’m busy focused on unimportant things.
