Nutcracker Lesson

"Look!" said Mirabel. "A white-breasted nutcracker!" Carmen laughed at her younger sister. "I think you mean a white-breasted nuthatch." "Oh--well, I was close," Mirabel said. Carmen looked out at the bird feeders Mom had helped her hang on the pine trees. She loved the little birds that flocked in their front yard. "Uh-oh," said Mirabel. "There's that tiger cat again. He's crouching under the tree." "Yeah," said Carmen. "He looks like he's ready to pounce! Quick, bang on the window and try to scare him away." They both knocked on the window. The cat looked up, startled, and disappeared into the woods. "I think he belongs to one of the houses on the next street," said Carmen. "Well, we scared him away this time. Mom did too last week. She opened the window and banged on a pan." "And Rollo barked his head off at him the other day," said Mirabel. Carmen laughed. "Well then, I guess we're all prepared for any future attacks." "Yeah," said Mirabel. "We've got pans and dogs and we're ready for war!" "I'm not sure how effective those weapons would be in a real war," said Carmen. "But for us they should work just fine!" She looked at Mirabel. "Mom and I talked about weapons not too long ago when I was telling her about this new girl in my class named Abby who's not very nice. Mom said not to act the same way back to her--she said the Bible tells us our weapons are different, and they're really powerful." "What are they?" asked Mirabel. "Water balloons--or slingshots?" "No, nothing like that. Things like prayer. Mom said to pray for her, and she gave me some verses to memorize to help me remember that Jesus loves Abby and died for her." "Do you really think those weapons are going to work?" asked Mirabel. "They already are!" said Carmen. "I've been praying for Abby, and every day I feel myself becoming more patient with her. And trusting Jesus to help me see her the way He does has helped me treat her well without expecting her to be kind to me in return." "Wow," said Mirabel. "I guess God's weapons really do work." She looked out at a little nuthatch. "Oh look--another nutcracker!" –Sharon Lee Roberts