Busy As Beavers

Photo take at a different time then the article was written.

Busy As Beavers "Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." 2 Cor. 3:17 Beavers are prevalent along the Missouri River. We found this to be the case during a family outing. A number of Cotton wood trees had been girdled and dropped. Later I went back to see if I could find other signs of beaver activity. I did not see any at first. About one quarter mile into the woods I came upon a brush pile that had a lot of one inch saplings piled neatly in the creek. Also there was mud piled along the bottom of the pile. At first I thought that this might have been dumped there in a flood, but all the sticks were neatly piled there. All seemed to be cut by beavers. There wasn't any other brush in the creek so the pile couldn't have been put there in a flood. This pile was definitely a beaver home. I returned to this area two years later to see if there were any changes. A flood had left a pile of sand two feet thick in some places. No effort had been made to clean up the sand. The hiking trail was now covered by sand piled in different thicknesses. Did the beavers survive the flood? I found new evidence that beavers still lived in the area. The trees the beavers had gnawed, had been knocked down by the flood, so the little woodsman were still active. The beaver lives mainly on the bark of hardwood trees. They build dams to hide the entrance to their hutches under water. They are sociable animals and usually have a number of beavers living in the same dammed area. Each family has its own lodge. The lodge is constructed by piling sticks and mud into a cone shape and then chewing their way in by cutting tunnels and passageways. The beavers' teeth are unique. The incisors grow continuously and are shaped so that the beavers' gnawing sharpens their teeth. The tail is flat and is used for sitting as it chews and gnaws. It is also used to signal danger to other beavers by slapping it in the water. Beavers are known for being busy. God has asked us to be busy as well. "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord" (1 Cor. 15:58). A proverb that I like says, "In all labor there is profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty" (Prov. 14:23). If we have this attitude we will be fruitful for God. "So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of faith" (Gal. 6:10). As we work for the Lord we can be assured that what we do for Him will not be in vain. Even if we give a glass of water, we will receive a reward.