Diligence...

^{Prov. 13:11} Easy come, easy go,

but steady diligence pays off.

I saw this Proverb in action last weekend when I was in the mountains. We were staying in 4 houses and Saturday morning I was walking from the house we were meeting in to the one I was staying in. I heard an extremely loud hammering sound from one of the houses in between and tried to figure out the source. I couldn't imagine someone was already up working on their roof at that time of day, but it sounded like when we had our new roof put on and the guys were driving in nails.

As I looked around I realized what seemed to be the cause of the ruckus, but I wasn't wearing my glasses and I was confused by what I saw. I headed into my room and grabbed my glasses and my camera and ran out to see if I really was seeing what I thought I was seeing. It looked like a bird the size of a buzzard was on the side of the chimney drilling away. I focused the camera and zoomed it in and was shocked at what I saw...

It was, without a doubt, the biggest woodpecker I had ever seen and it had made a huge hole in the side of the chimney! Talk about diligence!! There was no telling how much time it had taken that woodpecker to whittle and hammer away at the siding the way it had! Now I realize it was almost large enough a bird to roast for Thanksgiving dinner, but that's beside the point. I almost felt like I should give it a standing "O" just for sheer effort alone!

Whenever I feel like I am facing an insurmountable task, I hope I remember this woodpecker! There's no telling just what diligence will allow us to accomplish in life!