You've all hear the saying, "What's good for the goose, is good for the gander." Or more
commonly, we get in a place of, "If you can do it, so can I!" I've been thinking a lot about that lately in a reverse sort of way. Here's how it happened:
The boys were over for some yard work, because each of them is saving money for something special. I told them to come early, wear work clothes, and bring a change to go home in, in case they got wet. And, oh yes, they were to bring their bathing suits. All work and no fun......you know!
They climbed the slope, built steps by the fence so we could keep the morning glory from taking over absolutely everything, slid down the ground cover, got not only dirty, but green. At lunch I noticed that the hummingbird feeder was out of nectar, so I went outside to get it in preparation for filling it up.
My recipe is:
In a 2 cup measuring cup, fill it with 1 and 1/2 cups of sugar. Then fill to the 2 cup measure with water, add a drop of food coloring, place it in the feeder and hang it up. The hummingbirds love it and we have regular swarms. Sometimes all six spots on the feeder are busy. I have even begun to "talk" to them when I hang it up so they get used to me. I'm not sure they know what I'm doing, but it makes it more interesting for me.
Davis was watching as I slowly poured in the sugar. His eyes got bigger and bigger.
"That will have them bouncing off the walls!" he said.
I think I know where he might have heard that before. His mom watches the sugar intake of her boys carefully, and they are learning to know when they have had enough.
"But that's what they eat, Davis," I replied. "It's good for them." We all laughed, and I think even Davis caught the significance of what he had said.
I began to wonder how many times I judged someone for doing something that was not good for me but might be just fine for them. Doesn't the Word have a lot to say about our attitudes?!
In The Message, Romans 14 is listed as the chapter on Cultivating Good Relationships. "Forget about deciding what's right for each other. Here's what you need to be concerned about: that you don't get in the way of someone else, making life more difficult than it already is. ...Don't eat or say or do things that might interfere with the free exchange of love. Cultivate your own relationship with God, but don't impose it on others.
Continuing in chapter 15 - "May our dependably steady and warmly personal God develop maturity in you so that you get along with each other as well as Jesus gets along with us all. Then we'll be a choir-not our voices only, but our very lives singing in harmony in a stunning anthem to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ"
I think I'll go sing with the hummingbirds.
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