This past week, we’ve heard the coyotes calling nearly every night. It’s eerie to hear them. Their howling breaks into the night silence, disrupting our slumber. They sound like they are just beyond the window.
Our cats have not ventured outside, nor have they asked to go out. They hear the coyotes, too.
We talk about the coyotes over breakfast – our morning conversation strays back to them several times. We wonder if the warmer weather, coming through this autumn, has influenced the coyotes being in the area. Perhaps it’s the full moon, my husband, Perry, reminds me. I shiver at the thought of the coyotes, hoping my cats will be safe.
I’m uneasy with the coyotes being so close by. They sound as if they are literally just outside the window at night. I ask Perry to stay alert to his surroundings when he’s outside working during the day. He tells me that the coyotes are sleeping during the day if they are up all night keeping us awake. I suppose that may be true.
There is much to be done in the yard around the house as the fall moves along. The nice weather is a good opportunity to scrape and paint the deck and railings. The work is a joy in the cool air, Perry tells me, and I know it’s a good feeling to see the results of one’s labor. I admire his efforts when I get home in the late afternoon. We take a walk then, and breathe in the autumn air.
The cats will not come with us on our walks this time of year. Sage follows us to the edge of the yard. As we start down a forest trail, my cat lifts a plaintive cry and begs me not to venture farther. Cheyenne wanders over and waits in the undergrowth at the edge of the woods for us to return. I wonder if the cats sense the nearness of the coyotes.
Sage continues to cry, though, and we return to the safety of the yard. We change our path and walk around the yard instead.
All of this adds to my nervousness about the coyotes, yet I consciously know that they have been living here for untold generations, and the farm that once was here – where our home is now – knew the call of the coyotes, too. Still, I want the sanctuary of the house to wall out my fears.
There are many things in life that bring on fears of the unknown. In this day and age, we are all subject to fears of one kind or another, I know. I try to put my fears in God’s capable hands and hope that if I need to take an action to keep myself and my loved ones safe, I’ll be led in that direction. Life itself is a series of needing to face what lies ahead.
I cannot know what the future holds, I can only use my head and heart to discern what right steps to take to ensure a secure life. Then again, life is not meant to be secure, I’m sure of that. It’s “life on life’s terms,” a dear friend used to say to me. I take that to mean that if we are alive, certain things will happen, and sometimes those things are simply events that go hand in hand with being alive.
As long as I’m alive, I will have to accept the terms of life. What are those terms? Today, I know we are given the gift of life when we are born – and one day we will also die. If one is alive, there will be lessons, growth, change, and even pain at times. If we are fortunate enough to be living life, things will happen, and those experiences that help us know we need faith to bring us through.
Acceptance of this nature doesn’t come easily to me. I still have some growing to do. It’s a good thing that life only happens one day at a time. That way, I can grow slowly, as I need to.
Today, dear reader, if you have fears, I pray you will have a friend you can talk to who will listen and not judge your fears. It helps to know someone else understands, even if they cannot fix the problem. I hope you can place the situation in God’s capable hands and let God calm you. I hope you, like me, can listen to the inner voice that helps you discern what steps you can take to keep yourself and your loved ones safe in this world.
In the meantime, I go on praying — for my family and friends and the world — that we can reach out and take the hand of someone who needs compassion and support. That very act may help them more than you know.
