Banging Away at Nothing

I had a disconcerting thought this morning. My husband came in the bedroom and said, "You have got to come outside and see this."

An across-the-street neighbor has an older car that is decorated with a wide chrome strip that extends the length of both front and rear doors. A robin stood next to the car, very still, eyeing the chrome, and then us as we watched from a distance. Then he went back to gazing at his image in the chrome.

"Clink!" Up he hopped, wings flapping, to give the intruder a hard peck on the noggin. He fell back to the ground. More eyeing..."Clink!" Back to the ground.

Mr. Robin must have been a little confused, because (after a head shake) he stoodl very still and quiet for about a minute.

Flap flap flap! "Clink!"

We grinned at the foolish and feisty Mr. Robin, and then grinned at each other as we exchanged a few comments about the nature of animals (and people) who are "twitterpated" in the spring.

Later the thought came to me that perhaps I sometimes look like that to God. Does God watch me as I foolishly waste time and anger and defensiveness and energy on some false image of what is real? Do I hop and look important and peck -- only to get a dizzy head?

All too often, I am afraid this is so.

God must wonder at me sometimes, seeing how I don't notice that what I'm fighting is just a shadow of the real enemy.