The Chestnut Tree War

We have a wonderful chestnut tree in our back yard that every year produces an abundance of chestnuts. We don’t do much with the nuts, except rake them up for the compost. Anything else simply doesn’t occurs to me, but then I’m not a squirrel.

The squirrels in the neighbourhood have an entirely different reaction to the chestnut tree and its bounty. They want the tree and it’s harvest of the large green nuts. So much so that they will fight over the tree. At first it’s just a lot of chatter and chirping. Enough to ruin an afternoon’s nap.

This week the Chestnut Tree War of squirrel words escalated to paw-to-paw combat. Squirrels were falling from the tree (having been pushed to the end of a branch), only to dash back up to fight for the prize of dominance of the chestnut tree.

I have to say that not only does this make napping a thing of the past, it make relaxing impossible. Life during wartime is wrought with anxiety and nervousness. Even when all is quiet we wait for the next battle to start up.

Sometimes I wonder if the various churches and denomination seems like a scurry of chirping squirrels to everyone else. Well, Back to Church Sunday (B2CS - Sept. 30, 2012) can lessen that impression. One of the important messages of B2CS is that we are inviting people into relationship with Jesus Christ (in fact with God) and not just to our particular church. The Prince Street churches, working together on this effort this year is a positive step in building the impression that we are all a part of the one body, the body of Jesus Christ, the Church.

We are not fighting over the harvest of a chestnut tree, we are proclaim the salvation made known to us in the person of Jesus Christ. We don’t need to invite someone who is an active member of a church (synagogue or temple) already. We invite those who are currently not a part of a religious community.

Now, if someone could help me convince the squirrels of my back yard that there are enough chestnuts on my tree for both of them, and more, for the whole winter. I don’t speak squirrel and none of them are in a listening mood.