Imprinted

Imprinted

Our old farm house stood alone on a gentle rising hill that overlooked a beautiful lake. The lake was the home of many water birds, who flew noisily in each evening in a cacophony of chatter, to nestle down safely for the night among the tall reeds at the water’s edge. At dawn the birds took regally to the skies once more, their cries sounding across the lake. During the day different aquatic birds returned, or maybe they had stayed, to feed eagerly in it’s waters, webbed feet skimming them lightly across the glistening surface. Huddled in groups by the shoreline they purposefully groomed their feathers, settled down in the sun and slept. 

Our growing family enjoyed the birdlife down by the lake. We owned a sturdy fibreglass red and white canoe, which was used by our family to explore the intriguing life of the birds. In quietness we guided our canoe past dry rushes at the edges, through thick green reeds growing in the water and around old, fallen, rotting trees. Nesting birds were tucked away secretly, colourful eggs could be found, babies swimming closely behind their mothers were located, all with wonder and delight by my daughters. 

In the centre of the lake was a small grassy island with some tall green poplar trees growing on the east side. Many times we would circle the island in our canoe, listening carefully, looking intently, as the island was the favoured home of many a bird. One day as we glided silently to the far side of the sanctuary we startled two very beautiful and noble black Australian swans. The male took swiftly to the skies, his red beak pointed forward and his black wings stretched forth in their fullness, the underneath whiteness shimmering down upon us. We gazed upon his beauty as he flew, sending forth his haunting call. The female swan continued to hover on the island. The reason for her decision to stay was soon made apparent to us. She was keeping a watchful eye on a large grassy nest with a clutch of four greenish white eggs inside it. We looked closer and the mother swan stepped backwards and out of our immediate sight. There, just hatched, lay a wet, tiny cygnet. It’s round stomach moving up and down with it’s breaths after the exertion of it’s appearance into the world. My daughters were ecstatic. We watched with delight and wonder as it dried in the warm air, growing fluffier by the moment. It wobbled on it’s painted grey webbed feet and rolled onto it’s back once more. It’s tiny little cheeps added to it’s sweetness. Soon the cygnet was a tiny ball of dry grey fluff, moving around the nest, stumbling over the other eggs, cheeping piteously at us and filling our hearts with joy. Then suddenly, it was in the water heading towards our canoe, bobbing up and down like a cork. We quickly scooped it up. Oh it felt so soft, like touching only air. We all eagerly held the baby swan, looked closely at it’s little dark grey beak, felt it’s softness, and held it close to our cheeks. Then it was time to return the cygnet to the nest. Alas, however, each time we tried to depart the cygnet tried to follow. We would take it back to the nest over and over. Finally, we left the baby in it’s nest and paddled away at a furious rate hoping it would not be able to follow and that the mother would return to the nest once again.

The little cygnet had imprinted on us. Seeing our family in the canoe was the first glimpse it had received of something large and moving and it instinctively thought we were it’s mother and it was prepared to follow us closely for the next nine months of it’s life. Several days later we checked once more on our little swan family. The chicks had all hatched and were all wary of us, except one, who wandered towards the edge of the nest to look longingly towards us before a honking mother brought it back hastily to safety once more. God desires that we too imprint, not on each other, not on the first thing on our minds as we wake each morning, but on Him. As we start our day may our protection, our life and our needs be met only in Him. May our minds be lifted up to Him and may we see only Him in all His beauty and glory before we start our day and look around at all the work to be done, the problems to be solved and people to be dealt with. May we wake up and open His Word and imprint on God each day.

Ps 63:1 “O God, you are my God; early will I seek you: my soul thirsts for you, my flesh longs for you in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is..”

Matt 6:33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness..”