Woodland West Church of Christ

Last week I saw something in my backyard that I have never seen before: a common gray fox. I was talking to my dad on the phone when I detected something moving across the ground along the back fence in and out of the bushes. When I looked closely, I knew immediately that it was a fox. Although I have never seen one "in the wild"—and I’m not exactly sure that my backyard qualifies—but what else could it be?

I found myself mesmerized at the sight of something new and natural. I excitedly invited my wife and daughter to look and see this amazing sight: urging both of them to be as quiet and still as possible so that we didn't startle the fox.

It really was an amazing sight. This creature looked confident, completely at ease, and right at home in our backyard, as if it belonged here. In fact, this gray fox blended in so perfectly with the now aged and faded wood fence that my wife had a difficult time finding it. "Where is it? Where?" To which my daughter and I kept answering, "Right there!"

I know that such answers aren’t very helpful, but what else can you say when it’s literally right there in front of you! So much so that the fox had no problem in detecting our presence; no doubt a combination of the excited exchange of "Where?" and "There!" as well as my wife's moving in for a better view through the window now that Andrea finally had her glasses on.

After momentarily freezing in its tracks and staring right at us, it quickly ran to the corner of the yard, effortlessly leapt up on the top of our 6-foot fence, and disappeared in a moment. Unfortunately, all that Andrea saw was a blur.

We have been in the house for over two years and this is my first sighting. Yet my assumption is that this little critter has probably been in the neighborhood a lot longer that we have.

In so many ways I have to wonder how this little experience reflects the ways of God in our world. There is no place that we can go to hide from his presence. Yet do we sense his presence in our world, in our neighborhood, and in our lives? He is very much at home here. After all, he created the universe and everything in it. Is it possible, however, that we are so busy and preoccupied with everything else in this world, that we do not detect God's presence? Or worse yet, that we simply ignore the presence of the Lord in order to give our attention to something else?

He’s right there! And believe me, he sees us, hears us, and watches us. He knows our coming and going. He knows what we are up to. But could it be that we are so unaccustomed to looking for him and seeing him, that even when we put on our spiritual glasses we still struggle to detect his presence? God does not run away from us and disappear, but it is imperative that we learn to be still and quiet, sometimes for a very long time, so that we can see the God who has been there all along. And when we sense the Lord’s presence in our lives, in our homes, and in our world, it is a very exciting thing. You will want to share the experience with others. "Come and see!"

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