Visiting Nassau’s
Ardastra Gardens was one of the highlights of our Bahamas vacation. My husband and I laughed as we watched the world
famous marching flamingos circle
the performance ring. With their long spindly legs and graceful S-shaped necks, the birds obeyed the commands of their
“drill sergeant.” Around the ring
they marched, puffing out their chests. When the “sergeant” blew his whistle, the birds would do a
quick about face and head the
other way. They were hilarious. After the show we learned that this particular generation of birds hadn’t been
trained at all. Decades ago, the
owner of the gardens had trained a few flamingos, as part of an experiment. Now the younger birds mimic the older
birds, and so it has continued for
generations of the garden’s flamingos. It reminded me of that game follow the leader we used to play as
children. Even as adults we still
follow leaders, don’t we? Pastors and their wives, mentors, teachers, supervisors at work, and others.
Are we choosing to follow people
who are worthy to be followed? Keep in mind that others are watching and following us—our children and
grandchildren and neighbors, for
instance. Are we leading them as we should? Not all leaders do so—consider Adolph Hitler and Mao Zedong, for example.
Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come
after me, let him deny himself and
take up his cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24--NIV) Jesus calls us to follow him too. He will not lead us
astray. Nor will he suddenly order
us to do a spiritual about face. He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
An award-winning writer
and frequent conference speaker, Shirley Raye Redmond is the author of
Courageous World Changers: 50 True Stories of Daring Women of God (Harvest House). She holds an M.A.
in literature and has been married
to her husband Bill for over forty years. They live in New Mexico where she is prayer chairman for her local
Community Bible Study (CBS). Touch
bases at shirleyrayeredmond.com or Facebook.
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