Our acorn stockpile wasn't such a great idea after all. A few days ago, I learned that acorns contain bitter tannins that interfere with a squirrel's ability to metabolize protein. That's why they bury them!
Burying acorns and letting them sit underground allows moisture to percolate through them to "leach out" the tannins.
Our stockpile circumvented this process. We'll have to bury them or let them sit in groundwater for days.
How could I not think of ways I seek short-cuts, of ways I stockpile and fret, when all along, I'm preventing a much needed process? When my plans rest dormant underground, might I see them as percolating in the moisture needed to make them nourishing and not destructive?
God is leaching out the bitter thing--the thing that might harm me.
Squirrels surrender to the process. They don't resist the truth of their circumstances. They gather, bury, and then feast only after that secret underground process completes. Might living with flair mean we watch the squirrels and understand something about our own journey with God?
I can't circumvent what needs to happen.
Priceless! This post made a subscriber out of me. Thanks for a wonderful lesson in the unexpected turns of nature and faith. I had no idea that's what the whole burying deal did! I knew it was necessary for germination, but I had no idea it was necessary for digestion as well! The power of dormancy, as you put it, should never be underestimated.
ReplyDeleteWith your permission and citing "live with flair" as its source, I'd like to save this illustration to use at a later date. It's too good to pass up.
Thank you, Jeff. Certainly use the illustration any time you like!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely loved this post. I never know about the process either, and its an interesting thought that maybe just maybe that is why somethings are lying dormant in our lives, b/c God is doing a leaching process for us. Love the analogy, keep em coming :-)
ReplyDeleteI had know idea that's why they buried them. Fascinating!
ReplyDeletethat's very cool.
ReplyDeleteas an added bonus, if your plan goes awry and you don't unearth your acorn, it gets its chance to live with acorn flair.