Tag: Predators

“Yinney” Chapter 32

Path Without End

28e223c9-f4f7-4ee2-9d62-2504d88782fe_rw_1920 At one a.m. Clara finally surrendered to going to bed with the stipulation Rachel wake her if anything important happened. Clara had an early rise for work, whereas her mother worked the evening and night shift. So after an exchange of hugs and words of concern for Frank, Rachel was now alone with the TV and her fearful thoughts.

Normally she would be in bed now too. But it would be useless tonight, she would only toss and turn. So she watched the TV intently, even as it repeated itself over and over. She saw no sign of Frank. The hours slowly ticked by, until finally the reporter confirmed Central park was now under police control. The stone building had been gassed, the gangs broken up and arrested, and yes there were fatalities. No names were given yet, until families could be notified.

Rachel was exhausted. She wanted to go to bed, but her worry was growing even more. Why hadn’t Frank called by now to confirm he was alright? He would have to know she would be worried. The fact he had not called yet, was reason for even more concern. But slowly without realizing, she drifted off to sleep on the couch, with her phone nearby.

Six a.m., and she only been asleep for an hour or so when her cell phone began ringing. At first it sounded as if in a heavy fog, and very far away, but slowly growing louder until she finally realized she had fallen asleep and needed to get the phone! But her brain did not want to work and her body did not function. Fumbling to hit the buttons she hastily answered, “Hello…Frank? You okay?”

The voice that answered was not Frank. “Mam,” he began, “this is Frank’s partner, Sam. He told me to call you if anything ever happened. Franks in the hospital.”

As Rachel remained silent, Sam could hear her breathing and decided best to just lay it out there. So he kept on talking, “He’s alive… but it’s not good. He took a bad fall. His back has some serious damage. He’s been unconscious, swelling on the brain. Their prepping him for surgery right now. I’m not leaving till he comes out of surgery. But he would want you to know. Do you have any questions? Do you need a ride to the hospital or anything?”

“No…” she answered. “I can get there. Thank you, Officer Sam.”

“You’re welcome, Mam.”

Rachel disconnected the call, slowly slid off the side of the couch onto the floor, buried her face into her hands and began weeping. She was exhausted, emotionally spent, but as soon as she could pull herself together she would tell Clara the bad news, and then she would be on her way to the hospital.

Frank was unaware of anything going on. He felt no pain, did not know his body lay on the bank of a small stream for a couple hours before he was found, was unaware of his ride in an ambulance to the hospital, and did not know he was being rushed into surgery at this very time. The extent of his injuries were not yet known, but the swelling of his brain had to be treated immediately, and there was spinal cord damage. One doctor estimated his odds of living about fifty-fifty, and his odds of walking again not that good.

Frank was mostly unaware of anything. He was sleeping in darkness and feeling nothing, not even the passing of time, except when there was a flash of light. At random times there would be a flash of something, like light, and a picture! Light flashed, he saw a tree over hanging a lagoon! In his unconscious and injured state he did not try to ponder what he saw, it was as a dream, it just was. Light flashed and he saw a tree, then he saw a lagoon, and it was as if in a jungle.

Time passed by and he was unaware of the passing before light flashed again, and there was the tree again, and something else, a sloth?

Frank was still in surgery when Rachel arrived at the hospital and quickly found Officer Sam. Frank had spoke of him as a fine man, but she and he had never met. He knew she had to be Rachel the moment he saw her enter the waiting room.

Walking over to her, he softly asked, “Rachel?”

“Yes, I’m Rachel. Any word?”

“No. Not yet. He’s still in there. His sons have also been notified and they are on their way. All but one. He’s got to book a plane. Can I get you a coffee or anything?”

“Yes, coffee would be good, and if you can tell me anything at all, about what happened to him?”

“Sure, lets get that coffee first, and find a seat,” Sam went to a coffee machine, put a card in, punched some buttons and waited on the coffee while Rachel spotted a place to sit. Soon he was joining her with two cups of hot coffee, cream and sugar.

“Well,” he began, “here’s all we know. Frank was found unconscious on the ground and almost in a stream of water. It appears he had gone over the side wall of a stone bridge. He must have been in a tussle with somebody. He fell in a bad way. Another officer was found on the bridge, his neck broke. We don’t know if the two are related or not. Frank and I got separated in the chaos. I didn’t see a thing, I’m afraid. And I feel terrible I wasn’t there to help him.”

Sam went silent at that point and Rachel gave him an understanding look as she reached to touch his hand. “Frank always spoke very highly of you. Said you were a good man and he was lucky to have you as his partner. Whatever happened out there, I’m sure he doesn’t blame you.”

Rachel saw tears in Sam’s eyes as he thanked her for her kind words.

Two more hours went by before Frank was wheeled out of surgery and into a special room. Sam helped identify Rachel as someone very close and should be allowed to be at his side when he awoke.

“If he awakes,” a doctor corrected. “His injuries are very serious. we’re hoping he does’t slide into a deep coma, and if he avoids that, then we don’t know if he’ll ever walk again. I’m sorry. I wish I had better news, but we just don’t know. Only God knows at this point.”

Rachel nodded her head that she understood, thanked the doctor for all his efforts, and settled in by Franks bed to wait. There lay the man she was afraid to love. Now it was likely his police days were over. How would Frank deal with such a change in his life? Was she meant to help him through such a time as this? All she knew was she was here for him now.

As morning was birthing thousands of miles south in the Amazon jungle, Yinney was singing his morning song…

Rising morning sun, I greet you. Singing morning birds, I thank you. Gentle cooling breeze, I welcome you. Great and mighty tree, I hang from you.

Predators may lurk jungle below, but our ways are higher in the trees. Our ways are touched with cooling breeze. Our ways invisible in the leaves. Our ways are blessed in peaceful flow. Our ways are blessed with S-O-U-L.

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Lot was a Righteous Man -P/3

Path Without End

angelwings “Therefore, angels are only servants – spirits sent to care for people who will inherit salvation.”

(Hebrews 1:14 NLT)

As people more and more living in a post-Christian nation, and more and more surrounded by a Sodom and Gomorrah atmosphere, we need to think more about our angels God has given. Have you thought about it?

When you go to work, what are you surrounded by? I was a truck driver, and believe me, the workplace was not Christian. I was a lone light shining in a dark place. All my job experiences were pretty much that way. In America today, even those who claim to be Christian are strangely silent in the workplace. Even on subjects such as abortion. I don’t mean you go looking for fights, but if people know you are a Christian and they ask you what you believe on any number of subjects, such as homosexuality, we need to speak truth in kindness. But we do need to speak it.

In today’s America many people have lost jobs and been attacked simply because they believe the Bible. Everyone believes in some books. If you believe in evolution, then you believe those books. We are all believers in something! But I’m not going to try and destroy someone’s livelihood because they believe in evolution. Who are the haters?

Anyway, you get my point. When God rescued Lot, angels were heavily involved. Might that story be meant to reveal something to us? I love Hebrews 1:14 as it not only speaks of God’s gift of salvation to us, but also we have been given angels as ministering spirits! WOW! How cool is that?

Angels are very active and involved on planet earth. God’s Word even says we may entertain them unaware. I suspect the higher the level of demonic activity, the higher the level of angel activity, as the story of Lot seems to also indicate. The spiritual condition of a country can be measured in various ways, such as love of money, materialism, lack of prayer, churches that preach a humble Savior but practice materialistic ways, the rise in homosexuality, the murder rate of babies, violent crimes, etc etc.

As sheep to the slaughter we live in a world of predators. Hollywood constantly promotes a predator society. Even many Churches have become predatorial in the way they seek money and cling to their particular “members”. The New Testament does not even teach a tithing law on the born-again, only on the Jews still under the law, before Christ died on the cross, and yet most churches still put us under that law. A law related to MONEY. How very revealing. Let there be light!

Anyway, we need to learn from Lot and his wife, who looked back at her worldly possessions and became judged with Sodom. We need to be aware of the time we live in, and walk in the wisdom of God as revealed to us in His Word. Let His revelations not be wasted on us.

I didn’t realize it, but long ago I got inspired to memorize the whole chapter of Psalms 91. It took me a long time. Eventually I got good at quoting it. Then I was surprised to find I could pray it! It started becoming a part of my prayer life. And as I began doing that, I did not even realize I was praying for angel involvement in my life!

“He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust:…”

“For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.”

Our Lord was strengthened of angels when he needed it; therefore, evidently they can strengthen us! Way cool! So these three articles have been written to shine light on the time we live, and to enlighten us to be more aware of our opportunity with the angels. We may be sheep living in a world of wolves, but we have an awesome Shepherd, and angels do his bidding! Amen!

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This concludes our series on “Lot” and the angels. We will continue our story of “Yinney the Sloth who needed to Poo”. The story of Yinney walks softly, but carries a big stick. It’s simple, but also deep. Please check it out. Simply scroll back to chapter one. You can’t miss it.

“Lot was a Righteous Man”

Path Without End

20171202_173614 The story of “Yinney the Sloth who needed to Poo” is going great and will continue, but I have felt led of the Lord to take a small break and share some thoughts I’ve had relating to the Yinney story, Predator Cities, and Predator People.

The nephew of Abraham, Lot, has always intrigued me. By his own choice he found himself living just outside the gates of a predator city, and he was very involved with that city, even choosing to sit at the gates. Which was a strategic place to be, where the powerful and rich usually had some kind of presence, keeping tabs on what was coming in and out of the city, and political power.

Lot had a very questionable history of walking with the Lord. When Abraham, his uncle, who had been good to him in so many ways, gave Lot a choice of which land to take, he took the best for himself and left his older uncle with the worst! Hardly seems like the Christian thing to do.

Soon we find he has made his home outside the gates of a very wicked city called Sodom, as in Sodom and Gomorrah, and he sits at the city gate. When two angels show up to see how bad the city has become, he persuades them to stay at his house and not enter the city. Sodom and Gomorrah were definitely predator cities full of the kind of people who want to eat you! (I’m not talking cannibalism, but murder, rape, thievery, and sin of every kind was rampant.)

He even ends up offering his two virgin daughters to the angry mob who confronts his home desiring the visitors be handed over. Things were different back then, but I do find it somewhat surprising when II Peter 2:7 says: “But God also rescued Lot out of Sodom because he was a righteous man who was sick of the shameful immorality of the wicked people around him. Yes, Lot was a righteous man …”

II Peter 2:9 tells us he was tormented in his soul by the wickedness he heard and saw day after day. Now I hate to say it, but I have experienced the same thing here in America. Perhaps the whole world is becoming this way. Lot chose to live near Sodom. He had a choice, but do we? Or are we stuck in this Lot situation with little choice in the matter? Admittedly, it’s very hard.

This is one reason I’m so interested in Lot, his story, and the details of his rescue. I am convinced we are more and more surrounded by a world turning into Sodom and Gomorrah. Are there things for us to learn from Lot? Important things? Jesus speaks of Lot when speaking of the last days. (Luke 17:28) We do know that angels were very heavily involved in the rescue of Lot and his family. Are we mindful of our angels?

So we see that Lot was surrounded by wickedness, even by his own choice, and his soul was tormented by what he heard and saw every day, and yet somehow he remained a righteous man in the eyes of God. So I guess we can too! That’s encouraging.

The other night I went to a video store looking to rent a good movie. This is a perfect example. I could choose not to watch movies or TV, but I have not and I entered this gate of my own choice, just like Lot?

If you want an example of how far the mind of man can sink into depravity, just look at the awful movies some people are making and a certain percentage of our society love to watch. Hate, violence, sex, violence, murder, sex, gore, violence, dark grossness, sorcery, violence, revenge, stealing, sex, nudity, violence, gore, darkness, wickedness, sickness, depravity, and more violence.

Now folks, even if you’re not a religious person, it’s pretty scary to think of a growing population of people out there, who love things of that nature. Perhaps you are not a predator. You just want to live and let live. You’re a wonderful person who simply wants to go on a date with the person you love, have a nice meal out, see a good movie, but we have to be aware all these other people are out there too, and who knows what they might do? Even if we don’t believe in God, is that the kind of world we want to live in? But without God, how can we even say what is wrong? How can we say there is a normal, or a standard? And if society as a whole sinks far enough, eventually anything becomes your truth, your right, your delight.

This is also the story of Yinney. Every seven days he needs to leave his tree, go to the ground and poo! All he wants to do is poo in peace! But there are predators down there. It is the most dangerous thing he does.

I ended up renting a movie called “The Bookshop”. That movie would probably bore a lot of people to sleep, but I found it most interesting and left me with much to think about. I love a movie that leaves me thinking. But it was slow moving; the hopes, dreams, and interaction between characters was the glue that held you. Nobody was murdered, but there were predators, and a dream did get murdered. We can be attacked and die in many ways.

This one old lady and her husband, but she wore the pants in the family, they were definite predators, but they used money, manipulation, politics, and power to get what they wanted. Unfortunately for this one peace-loving lady with a beautiful dream, she got in their way. Her lovely dream got in their way.

This paragraph: spoiler alert! This lady was brave and fought back, but she did not have the teeth and claws they had. She became their victim. She loses everything! (But her life.) And as she is sailing away in sadness, the movie projects forward something beautiful is still born out of the sacrifice she made. We just never know.

So let me say this, predators may not know it, but they never win in the end. All us God-fearing and God-loving people? WE DO WIN! And it can be seen even in the present, not just one day in heaven. The predators will never admit it, but theirs is a very sad and empty life. LOVE really is the only way to live and be happy. We win every day. I was so happy I actually found a good movie that strengthened my spirit man, rather than attacking it. That movie was a win in my book.

In “Part 2” of this article I want to look more at the details of Lot’s rescue. I’ve seen the trailers of movies I can’t believe anyone would want to make or watch. Those people are out there! They are a growing population! If the Church don’t get her act together, we will be in the days of Lot as prophesied! It won’t be pretty! Only the predators will be loving it until they realize, that those who eat others, eventually get eaten themselves, and it is a horrible way to die, that is the sting of death! Think about it.

But if I am right about the last days growing all around us, then Lot is someone we would do well to consider. His story has much to offer if we are the kind of person who like being “prepared”. It may not be pretty, but God does know how to deliver his people. That is what God’s word says. But do we know?

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“Yinney” Chapter 18

Path Without End

New-York-City-night2 “Gotham needs me,” Frank spoke to the mirror on the wall. The same mirror he had been speaking to for many years, but the image looking back at him had changed, and he no longer felt the same.

After twenty years on the force as a police officer in the big city, NYPD, he was no longer the young adventurous guy who first chose to be an officer of the law. His feelings had changed, his reasons had changed, but he still felt good about what he did because the need was so great, and somebody had to do it. You simply cannot have a civil society without laws and someone enforcing them. There were simply to many predators out there.

Without laws and those enforcing them, things revert to the wild wild west; only it would be even worse, because our guns are bigger and our horses faster. Also, respect for life had eroded away. Now days you can be shot and killed just trying to give out a speeding ticket. Frank did not like the direction society was taking. As a matter of fact, it scared him. Something in the air of our modern day caused a desperation in people he thought he would never see. The nights were becoming darker, even a gross darkness!

He did not fear for himself so much, although he did not want to die, but he feared for loved ones, which now included a new romance. His first love, Jane, had passed away with cancer two years ago. Their youngest child moved out two months ago. All three children now raised and flown the coop, an empty nest. The small house was so darn quiet.

For almost two years he had grieved, missed Jane, and buried himself in his work, which was easy to do and a lot of officers did it. But he knew he would eventually come out of it. He trusted the fates to accidentally meet someone. After a year or so, he kept an open eye, but was not seriously hunting. It would either happen or not. He could stay buried in his work if need be, and be happy. He did love the job, the thrill of the night, the city beat, helping people in real need, often life and death situations.

He had always worked at night. The real bad guys come out in the night. In the beginning it was the thrill as much as anything else, but now he understood the laws of the jungle, eat or be eaten, those predators having no respect for anything, anyone, or even life itself. They had to be stopped. They had to be stopped every night or no one could hope to enjoy a peaceful life, raise a family, enjoy the good things. Not even true love would be safe. Especially true love.

As he surveyed himself in the old mirror, taking stock of what it showed, he was aware of every weakness he tried to hide. Show no weakness to a predator. How much longer could he do this? There are younger officers. Maybe he should take a desk job? No, not ready for that yet. At forty-three he still had a lot to give. True, this job had beat him up a lot, but the thought of a desk job simply would not do. He was an aging Batman now, but he could still do it, it just hurt a little more. Okay, a lot more.

Finally leaving the mirror he turned to a nearby table and picked up the framed photo of Rachel. A larger framed picture of Jane still graced the table too, and he would never forget her. Could anyone ever even come close to Jane? He did not know as he put the picture of Rachel back on the table and turned to head out into the night, facing the foolish, the drunken, the desperate, and the predators.

Rachel was out there too, and his three children. Yes, he felt good to be a fighting force against a society that could so quickly turn jungle, if it were not for those still willing to take an oath and wear a badge. She would be getting off soon from her job at the coffee cafe. That was how he met her.

Rachel was a divorcee. Very sad story, really. Suddenly forced into the working world, she had landed the job at the cafe. She enjoyed learning how to make the different coffees and connecting with the regular customers. She was a natural for the job and content in her new life, but then they met. Frank knew he was falling in love again, but was she? He wasn’t sure. But time would tell and he was enjoying life fully again. It felt good.

Time to go.

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“Yinney” – Chapter 17

Path Without End

images (3) Turns out it was a good thing Jag moved on because Yinney was feeling the urge. The urge to poo was very predictable as far as it happening every seven days, like clockwork. But what time of day, that was not predictable.

Soon after the macaws left, the urge began. Slowly down the tree he made his way to perform his 7th Day duty, fertilizing his sacred tree. As he surveyed the jungle below, he saw no sign of danger. However, most predators were very good at remaining invisible. The need to poo was the most dangerous thing he did, and it happened every seven days.

Yinney did not even know Jag had been there just one hour ago. A sloth never indicated if he was in the need to poo, for if he did, a predator on the ground would simply wait for his easy meal to come down out of the tree. So he always acted as if he were simply slowly moving about, but of course, once his moving grew closer to the ground, this would cause any predator to hang around.

Yinney started moving outward and upward. This was meant to fool a waiting predator. As a matter of fact, by the time he would finally reach the ground, probably about two hours would pass. Yinney could hold it! And this was the way of survival for a sloth. Never get in a hurry about anything.

Jag was not thinking about the sloth anymore. He had moved on and the gnawing in his belly almost hurt, he was so hungry! He had urges of his own, the never ending hunger. It was a relentless cycle of feast and famine. He would endure the pain until he made his kill, then he would feast.

He eyed a fat monkey on the ground ahead. It was plump enough, but was it slow enough? Was it distracted enough by whatever it was fiddling with? Silently he worked his way through the shadows, making use of every dark spot he could camouflage into. He was the grim reaper of the jungle.

If he took too long the monkey would move. They are known for moving a lot. Jag eyed the prey, drool formed in his mouth and began dripping. He could taste the thing. Had it not been a fat monkey, he would have passed on by, but this one had some meat to offer.

Suddenly leaping out of the last dark spot he could find, he made his move! The monkey screamed in terror, also warning all those around. If he could only gain another two seconds the fat monkey would be his! But no… not this time. His claws slashing through the air came up empty, and now the fat monkey was screaming at him from the trees. Mocking him as he slinked away. “Next time monkey,” he snarled. “Just get a little fatter and slower. I’ll have you, and when I do, I’ll rip you to shreds, and have my feast at your expense.”

The hunger continued driving him. He would not rest until he fed. Another hour of hunting crept by. Finally the jungle offered a real prize, a capybara!

Jag froze the moment he spotted the capybara, but had he been seen? The very large rodent had been eating grass as usual, but suddenly stopped, lifted his head and began testing the winds. Had the creature sensed him?

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The Amazon had the largest rodent in the world, the capybara. They could get up to one-hundred and fifty pounds, but this one was more like one-hundred. Jag always preferred the kill of a vegetarian to a carnivore. Carnivores fight back, but the vegetarians are a safe bet. Plenty to eat and little danger. More than he would eat on this one. But that didn’t matter. He would feast! He would satisfy his hunger.

“Yes,” Jag silently bragged, “why fight another predator when you can slaughter a peace-loving vegetarian?” he laughed to himself, thinking himself so wise.

Finally the beast went back grazing. Now Jag could begin to do what he did best. He had a serious contender here. The game was on.

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When Jag finally made his move there was little doubt of his success. His final leap came squarely down upon the back of the beast and his fangs instantly sank deep into the spine, on back of the neck. There was a snapping sound. The capybara helplessly paralyzed, and Jag began ripping, shredding, feasting, and gloating! At last the craving would go away for a little while, and he would feel good. He would be satisfied, until the craving began again, and so would the hunt.

Yinney finished pooing. He peacefully scratched some dirt over the poo and thanked the Creator for his 7th Day Tree. Now he could head out tomorrow on the first of his three day voyages. Three days outward, and three days traveling back, allowing plenty of time to poo here again in seven days. But as for the rest of today? Yinney looked at his lagoon and decided a swim would be nice. Slowly he traveled the few feet and entered in.

Once again Jag had proven his ability to thrive. He did not care others would eat what he left. He had his fill. Now was time to sleep and enjoy his satisfaction for as long as it could last. So with a final declaration of conquest, he gave his jaguar cry before disappearing one more time into the shadows.

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And so it was another day in the jungle. The killers feasted on any they could catch. Whether it be a sloth pooing, a monkey playing, a capybara grazing, it did not matter. If the victim was foolish enough to be caught in a moment of weakness, they would pay the price. And is it any different in the land of man? You’re caught in a moment of vulnerability. Your car breaks down. Your health fails. You lose your job. How many predators are just waiting for you to come down out of your tree to fix your need?

Some very successful people pride themself on how smart they have been to set themself up as the hunter, the predator, not the prey. Fortunately, there are good people out there, if you can find them, or fix it yourself. Or somehow do without. Who needs those very expensive meds anyway? No one lives forever, right? God sets on his throne seeing all. The predators will know one day, that nothing goes unrecorded, or unrewarded, whether good or bad.

Yinney saw the tree below and began diving deep to his favorite spot, where he would hold his breath forty minutes, suspended as if between two dimensions.

>The continuing story of “Yinney the Sloth who needed to Poo” is the property of Don Allen and “Fellowship of the White Path”.<

 

“Yinney” – Chapter 11

Path Without End

download (2) With all the rich color of her blue feathers, and the bright yellow around the eyes and beak, Lu-Lu had suddenly landed upon a limb of Yinney’s 7th Day Tree.

“So this is it!” she declared. “This is where my favorite sloth will center his life.”

“Yup,” he affirmed. “This is it. And look! I have a lagoon!”

“I see that. What an awesome place you have found. This truly is a wonderful spot.”

“Thank you. I am very happy indeed. Go ahead and take a look around. I have not been to the top yet. I might do that today.”

Yinney knew Lu-Lu could check out his tree on her own and save him the energy. She quickly jumped from this limb to that, as he watched with amusement. Could she really appreciate every fine detail of this special tree, as she moved so quickly, he wondered? He watched her turning her head when she studied the lagoon below.

“Hhmmm, very interesting!” she declared, and then flew to the uttermost top branch of his tree, to look about. After a hard look, she returned.

“Well, what did you see up there?”

“I saw the smoke has not reached this area yet. Even from your highest branch, it still cannot be seen.”

“What do you mean?” he asked, “What smoke? Is there a fire?”

“Oh, there is a fire alright, but not the kind we think of. A fire burning in the belly of man. Since we last talked I flew towards the east and checked on the road man is attempting to build through the Amazon.”

“What?” Yinney asked, and then slowly blinked three times before saying, “A road!”

“Yes, can you believe it? A road in the Amazon jungle? But don’t laugh, they are doing it. Its been a major challenge, and progress is fraught with set-backs, but man intends to tame this jungle for his purposes. Their machines belch smoke, are loud, and stink. I was looking to see if you could see it from here, but your safe, for now. In other places many animals are running deeper into the jungle.”

When Lu-Lu mentioned animals on the run, Yinney realized it was part of the vision he was given at the bottom of the lagoon.

“Lu-Lu, you’re not going to believe this, but the All-Creator gave me a vision of this, while meditating at the bottom of this lagoon.”

“What?” It seemed Lu-Lu’s yellow around the eyes got bigger and brighter as she reacted to Yinney’s statement. “Wait a minute. Let me see if I understand what you’re saying. “Did you just say you meditated underwater? And you had a vision?”

“Yes.”

“You’re a strange one, Yinney, but I like you. It’s a wonder you didn’t drown! Are you crazy?”

“It’s one of the beauties of slow. I can hold my breath for a very long time. I always wanted to do this, so I did not waste any time. The very next day after finding my tree, I went into the lagoon. I found a tree settled on the bottom, and latched hold of it. I was resting down there for a while, when suddenly a voice began speaking, and I knew it was the All-Creator!”

“Wow…” Lu-Lu was still trying to imagine doing such a thing. No wonder sloths are sought after as spiritual teachers in the animal kingdom. Who else would do such things? “So what did the voice say?” she finally asked.

“Well… it’s sort of a ‘big picture’ vision. Not a lot of details were given as far as the ‘how to’ is concerned. The vision said bad things were headed this way, but this tree and lagoon would be a protected place, and animals on the run would come here. I am supposed to set this tree as a refuge and develop a special place of community and communion. It said I had three years to prepare.”

“Oh my,” the blue macaw said with worry in her eyes. She was silent for a time before finally saying, “That would seem to make sense. Three years. Yes, I can see that. With the way the jungle is fighting back against the progress of man, it could easily be that long before it affects you. So even without me telling you of these things, you would already be preparing even though you knew not what was coming?”

“Yes, the Spirit prepares us for many things, even though we don’t always have the details before it actually happens,” Yinney explained. “And there is one more thing…”

Lu-Lu waited in anticipation of what the “one more thing was”. She could tell it was something important from the way he was acting. This sloth who lived such a simple, peaceful, and slow life, centered around a particular tree and his need to poo, actually was better prepared for the future than she was, even though she flew all about with much flapping, constantly keeping an eye. What was Yinney about to reveal to her now?

“There will be a man.”

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