Oh, it's a sad day in the woods....I went back to the duck's nest, camera in tow, hoping to snap some pics of the ducklings. I was sure they'd be hatched by now....(there was a nest just outside my classroom window that hatched last weekend with the cutest 11 little puff balls you ever saw.) But alas, when I got to the fallen tree that momma duck had her nest built under, there were no duckings. Just broken shells. And not like in - they hatched. I'm sure some raccoon or coyote stumbled across them and had themselves a feast. The eggs were strewn all over - many feet from the nest. Momma was nowhere to be found either.
It's so sad - she sat tenderly on those 10 eggs every day and then wham! Some predator comes along and all is for naught. I know God has a plan in the vast scope of nature - but I would be lying if I didn't say that sometimes it just doesn't make sense.
It makes me wonder too - why did the momma duck make her nest on the ground? Why didn't she hide it better? Didn't she know the trouble she was asking for - making her nest right out in the open like that? Didn't she know there were hungry predators prowling around - just waiting for a find like that? (maybe that's where the term "sitting duck" comes from...) And then I started thinking - aren't WE like that too? With the best of intentions we set ourselves up for failure? By building our "nests" too close to danger...not taking precautions to avoid the snares and temptations that are out there waiting to foil our diets?
We need a little planning. Some forethought. Like...don't drive by McDonald's when you're hungry. Or don't accept an invitation to dinner with your friends if you know it's going to be at that place that serves those awesome wings that you can't resist. Don't meander over to the fridge just before your favorite TV show comes on. Just like that momma duck - there's so much we could do to avoid the pitfalls. I guess it takes planning. This dieting/new way of life thing isn't something we can just wing. We can't just start building our "nests" wherever the whim strikes unless we give it a lot of thought first.
Which has me thinking - this whole journal thing - it's a great idea. And I'm gonna' keep it up. But instead of just winging it everyday - I'm going to sit down and make some meal plans. Have some snack -attack food all planned. I don't want to end up like that poor momma duck with my dreams strewn all over the place. That's happened too many times before.....
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