I had just started walking loops for exercise this morning when I noticed a little dead mouse on the ground in the middle of the path where I was walking.
I must stop for a closer inspection.
That certainly looks like a mouse body, but that head isn’t mouse-like at all. And that tail isn’t mouse-like either.
Hmmm … how curious!
I pulled out my Seek Nature app. Lo and behold! … it’s a shrew!
A long-tailed shrew in the species of: “Vagrant Shrew.”
That’s so exciting! I’ve never seen a shrew before! I had no idea shews were so little and mouse-like.
I had no idea shews lived in our forest. That’s just the coolest thing ever.
Would you believe a Bible verse popped into my mind about shrews. No joke. “Be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves.” – Matthew 10:16
I wonder if the word “shrewd” has any correlation to the animal shrew?
Let me ask AI ….
Yes! According to AI: “The small mammal, a shrew, was historically believed to have a poisonous bite and was feared, which contributed to the metaphorical use of the term for people with harmful or spiteful behavior.”
I just learned something I never knew before! Cool!
Jesus said – “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” – Matthew 10:16
What a cool blessing this morning as I walked my loops for daily exercise. A cute little shrew.
And a reminder from Jesus himself that he is sending his followers out into a world which is fiercely opposed (as wolves) to God and God’s people. So he wants us to be shrewd and clever … but at the same time kind.
Luke 19:40 says that even the rocks will cry out in praises to God. This morning a little shrew “spoke” words from Jesus to me.
Thank you Jesus for giving me a little shrew this morning, to remind me of your words that we are sent out into a world fiercely opposed to you and your ways … and that you want us to be shrewd and clever, while at the same time kind.
Thank you Jesus for this special daily blessing!
