“You must learn to let go. Release the stress. You were never in control anyway.”
Steve Maraboli
Initially, I didn’t share with my husband why I thought we were under attack, or that I suspected Woodette was assigned to us by God.
The woodpecker felt kind of like Dudley in the Christmas movie The Bishop’s Wife. Dudley was an angel sent to save the Bishop from himself.
I wasn’t sure about Woodette being an angel, but I figured she was here because I’m slightly challenged when it comes to letting go.
Okay, severely challenged.
Woodette showed up early one morning and banged so hard against the back of our house, she woke me up.
I thought something was in the attic space, but the noise was steady, not like an animal scampering. My husband was out of town for the weekend. I called him and held the phone so he could hear.
“What is it and what should I do?” I said.
He didn’t say, “I think it’s an angel.” Then again, he didn’t say anything. He had no idea about the noise.
I hit a broom stick on the ceiling.
The noise stopped.
I got back in bed.
The noise resumed.
This went on every 10 minutes for more than two hours.
It wasn’t until I dressed and went outside that I spotted a woodpecker perched on the siding under our roofline.
Woodette pecked holes on each side of the house, but mostly hammered in the back, by my bathroom. I ran her off every hour or so, but persistency’s one of her gifts. Pecking is another. She came back again and again.
Woodette hung around under the eaves for more than six months. My husband safeguarded the house with wire, but that didn’t stop her. Her demonstration of doggedness, persistence, tenacity, whatever you want to call it, was jaw-dropping.
Really. I’ve never seen a bird keep on like that.
“Am I really that determined when I want my way?” I asked. By now my husband knew Woodette was there because of me.
He said “yes.”
I have to say, I do dig in when there are circumstances I decide need changing. Or when people’s behavior needs improving. Or when I have advice they need hear. Unbelievable, I know, but I’ve even tried to control God.
It took a bird on a mission to hammer the point home.
What does it take to convince you to let go?
WRite wHere I’m supposed to be – If Woodette hadn’t been so annoying, and I hadn’t been so stubborn, I think we would have struck up a friendship. As it turned out, we tolerated each other until I got a foothold on letting go.
On the side: Here’s a different perspective in a Proverbs 31 Ministries devotion about woodpecker faith by Rachel Olsen.
On the lighter side: I’d like to think Woodette moved on to one of the referrals I gave her. A couple of people came to mind who I think would benefit from her lessons on letting go … I said foothold. I’m not cured.
Followup post: She’s baaaaaaaaack! (you remember my woodpecker, right?)
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I love how you are in tune with the Lord enough to hear Him working through everything around you.
Even a woodpecker. : ) Thanks so much for stopping by to read and comment. Hope you\’ll come again.
Your blog brought back memories of other days, other writers, experiences of nature and animals that teach us lessons. I commented on how Mark Twain wrote about birds and animals and used them as lessons too.
I think i scrolled by one you shared on my page. I can\’t wait to get over there and read it. Thanks!
Funny side note:
Our daughter isn\’t expecting a baby yet, but if they have a boy, our son-in-law wants to name him Huckleberry. And I\’m not sure he\’s kidding. Lol.
I had an experience a couple years ago when I heard this song in the background at PF Chang\’s. It was Keb Mo\’s version of a song Might Be God trying to Get Your Attention. I used it in a talk at a Men\’s Prayer Breakfast.
Isn\’t it funny, Joel, how the most random things stick with us? I love that God\’s lessons show up anytime, anywhere and through anything.
I so love lessons from Nature and even better when I \’get\’ them right away.
Me too, Kathleen. I also like when the lesson is straightforward. I didn\’t have to guess what Woodette might be trying to tell me. Thanks for stopping by!
I so love lessons from Nature and even better when I \’get\’ them right away.
I so love lessons from Nature and even better when I ‘get’ them right away.