Protect – Living Instinctively
In dealing with life’s challenges, so much can be understood through the watchful observation of animals adapting to their habitat. Animals act primarily on instinct, with their most important driving force being the need to survive. Whether it is a camouflaged insect evading capture or a creature higher up on the food chain guarding against fewer predators, they all keep a watchful eye for anything or anyone who can destroy them.
Several months ago I was able to observe the cat in this photo adapting to her environment. She happens to live in the desert surrounded by wolves, fourteen of them to be exact. Even though these fierce adversaries have only a double-walled chain-link fence between them, she knows it to be enough for her to find solitude lounging under a mighty oak tree in the center courtyard. The owner of this wolf sanctuary has put into place a fencing system and a strict protocol that keeps not just the visitors safe but the wolves as well. Two 12-foot-high chain-link fences surround each den creating a double barrier between these wolves and the outside world. To gain entrance to their dens you first have to be accompanied by a handler who will open the outside gate, let the two of you in, then close that gate and proceed to enter the final gate. This system is very effective in keeping both the people and wolves safe from improper access.
Some of you may read this and think, “How foolish of the cat to trust that her caretakers, the gatekeepers, will guarantee to keep her protected from the wolves.” Perhaps she has been lulled into a false security because no wolf has escaped the barriers yet. But, there is one other factor. The cat knows there is one more safe haven within her sanctuary. It is a tall and mighty oak tree that she could scale at a moment’s notice, taking her to a place beyond where her foes could climb. So, she has not only adapted to her environment but has also found a place to dwell that has given her multiple forms of safety.
How well have you done in adapting to your circumstance, or to your environment? Have you put your trust solely in others to be the gatekeepers, and do you also have a place that you can retreat to quickly if your gatekeeper slips up and lets the wolves in?
One last question: Do you recognize the wolves beyond the fence and know that they can literally destroy you? Uncamouflaged, you may recognize a few of them in the form of anger, laziness, drug or alcohol abuse, lust/pornography, over-indulgence, denial, greed or selfishness, paralyzing fear or pride.
If you have fallen victim to your own actions and are doing your best to fight off the attacks in the heat of battle, understand that the mighty oak that stands behind you is a simile of those individuals who can support and give you counsel to fight your fight well that you may stand another day. Those counselors can be found in the form of a helpful spouse or good friend, parent, pastor or an ecclesiastical leader or even a trained therapist. Basically, that retreat should be those people around you who know how to advise you to rebuild those walls and fences of protection.
We are not too far removed from those creatures that rely solely on instinct to survive. However, many of us have blocked out the warning signs, and by doing so we have let our gatekeepers go, leaving the gates wide open. Your life is important and should be protected to the fullest from those things intent on destroying you. So, keep a watchful eye, and if the adversary breaks through the barriers know whom to run to . . . and run as though your life depends upon it, because it very well might.
In Other’s Words:
“We humans fear the beast within the wolf because we do not understand the beast within ourselves.”
~Gerald Hausman~