Another Duck Story

The illustration shared during worship this week was a whimsical story about ducks (which can be watched by going to http://www.newenterprisecob.com) that reminded me of my own duck experiences. Last year we raised a group of white Peking ducks. They grew up healthy and happy and upon adulthood they transitioned themselves down to the creek to live. There they remained all fall, winter, and into spring doing whatever ducks do all day.

But this spring the geese showed up. A pair of Canadian geese moved into the neighborhood. The honkers decided the creek would be a great place to mate and raise some goslings. The ducks were willing to share the creek and live in peace but the geese were having none of that. They’d chase the ducks away with a ferocious hissing and nipping.

The ducks didn’t know what to do. This was also the ducks’ first spring as adults so there was a little added confusion as they tried to pair up. There are more drakes than hens, so the few hens had a really hard time of it. The displaced ducks did not know where to go. They ended up everywhere. All of them migrated into our yard, some moved behind the spring house, some lived under old trucks, some camped out in the sawmill and two of them decided to live life on the edge and began napping on the side of the road.

The geese were the heart of the problem, so I tried to chase them away. It didn’t work. I tried to shoo the ducks back to the creek. Nobody was moving. I even tried to get the road ducks to get off the road, but they’d rather live in mortal danger of getting smashed by a car than live under the threat of a goose. (Geese are scary even if you’re a large human.) Many cars drove by, beeping their horns at the road ducks. I’d chase them off the road and they’d go right back as soon as I went in the house. There was nothing I could do about it.

The geese hatched their eggs, raised a family, destroyed our corn and left. The ducks remained in the yard, in the meadow and on the road. By now they had acclimated to land living. They didn’t care to be down at the creek anymore. Their feathers were looking haggard. They weren’t washing and preening themselves. Duck fights would break out through the day. The separate family units of ducks were cranky at one each other. They became like little gangs defending the plots of land they had claimed from each other. The hens were looking especially rough. As I mentioned, spring is hard on hens but usually they are in the water when all the “action” is happening. The hens were going bald.

More weeks went by. The geese were long gone. When were these ducks going back to the creek? They were not made to live this way! What was wrong with them? Their health was declining. They were completely out of their element and they didn’t even seem to notice or care. It was maddening. It made me wonder, does God ever think this about us? Does He see how we’re living and think “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?? That is not how I meant for you to live!”

“From heaven the Lord looks down and sees all mankind; from his dwelling place he watches all who live on earth – he who forms the hearts of all, who considers everything they do.” (Psalm 33:13-15, NIV)

He created a world for us that was perfect to begin with. And then, we tried to “improve” it. Time went by and we got further and further away from where we belong. We got further and further from close, daily communion with God. We are barely functional and we are too stupid to know it. We’re like ducks living on the road. We’re in imminent danger with no clue. We’ve been like this for so long that we don’t even know it. Like ducks squandering our days in a yard, we forgot that there is a better life for us. We forgot about the living water, the creek that feeds our souls and improves our lives. Our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health can all be improved by going back to the way God meant for us to live. Let us embrace the freedom that comes with being the creature God created us to be.

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:17-18, NIV)

“And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ who is the image of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:3-4, NIV)

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17, NIV)

Good news: the ducks eventually returned to the creek. Their feathers are growing back. They’re taking care of themselves. They have rejoined as a large flock instead of small angry groups. They’re also much safer from predators on the water. They are no longer on the road or in the yard.

“Therefore dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.” (2 Peter 3:17-18, NIV)