Squirrels are Relentless, How About You?

     This past week I was fortunate to experience "Fall Break" which meant no school, yet my schedule was pretty much filled  with tasks, honey-do list items, and yes also some rest and relaxation. I am blessed in where we live due in part to the teeming wildlife that surrounds our wooded, lake home. Deer, raccoon, rabbits, birds of all types including American Bald Eagles all frequent the area throughout the year. One additional "critter" that lives in abundance is the squirrel population. Squirrels are a sight to sit and watch and during some of my down time from my job's list, I spent some quality time just watching the squirrels. In particular I watched the squirrels put forth a relentless attack on a bird feeder I had placed on a bent pole designed to keep the squirrels out and allow the birds to feed throughout the winter. Not only was the pole design meant to be a deterrent, but the bird feeder itself offers a built in deterrent in a feature that closes the opening to the seed when too much pressure is placed on the perch area. Not that I am against feeding our squirrels, but as the name suggests this particular device is called a "bird" feeder for a reason.
     As I previously stated squirrels are relentless. Their ingenuity and cleverness in their myriad attempts to access the contents of the bird feeder were amazing to watch and acrobatic in performance to provide a visual description. Stretching as far out from the stem of the pole as possible, barely able to grasp the tip of the bird feeder, squirrel by squirrel they attempted to get at the seed to fill their own jaws for winter storage. A couple of the lighter weight squirrels performed a "flag pole" type climb and then embarked the upside down portion of the pole by hanging on by just a foot grasp and an extended upper hand clasp. Really I was waiting to see if the ingenious bunch would decide to make a human ladder of squirrels stacked up on each others shoulders. In their attempts and the ultimate failures and occasional successes they experienced I noticed one underlying theme that struck me quite off guard. The squirrels I observed saw something they wanted and they were not going to be denied. They set their minds to the object of their quest and then they went about the business of doing what needed to be done to reach their goal. They were RELENTLESS! That is where the underlying theme kicked in, how relentless are we in our pursuit of our goals and our aspirations?
     Just as the squirrels attacked the bird feeder from every direction possible and just as they stretched their bodies out to the point that I wondered if they were going to disconnect their arms from their bodies, we must develop that same level of resiliency in life if we really want to fulfill our purpose in life. We must be willing to look at our pursuit from multiple viewpoints and we must stretch ourselves to limits beyond where we thought we were bound. If something you want to accomplish in life is worthy of your pursuit then it only stands to reason that you will go beyond what is normal to reach your destination.
     If your pursuits don't seem worth the stretch and the effort then more than likely it isn't a goal worthy of pursuing anyway. The pursuit of materialism, self-centered goals, and the quest of power for power's sake are a few goals that would not deem themselves as worthy of this type of relentless pursuit. Yet on the other hand, if your pursuit deals in helping others, teaching others, learning more so you can be a better more capable leader, or more importantly you are in pursuit of following the plan that God has set for your life then you should be relentless to a fault!
     Through prayer, planning, and a never give up attitude you will find an answer for your quest, you will breach the divide that has kept you out of reach of your destination. You my friend just need to be a little more "squirrely"! Don't ever give up and don't ever quit and always give your best!
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray continually, ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Looking forward to the week and the pursuit of being RELENTLESS!

Coach Carter