yielding

yesterday afternoon we visited Takhamaom - a wildlife sanctuary about an hour from Phnom Penh. we went because friends, Daniel & Cara, wanted to know where it was so their kids could enjoy it later. Takhamaom is about one hour away and we arrived at 5pm in the rain - the bonus being that we were able to enter without paying a fee. the area is large and you drive from section to section. in our visit yesterday we drove slowly in cars with the windows rolled up against the rain. some animals were hiding but others were peering out at us. the animal residents are not there by choice and some of them are not happy to be there. but for most if they weren't there they would probably not still be alive as they were taken from poachers or otherwise rescued from death.

the first section is a walk through area where tame or semi-tame animals and large birds roam - those apparently happier to be there with food and shelter. here we find lots of different types of deer (the photos are from 2007 as yesterday was not conducive for pictures)

when i first saw the guy below, i thought that far across the lake with a zoom lens was close enough...
it turns out that as we neared the exit he wanted to get up close and personal. no zoom in this picture, he wants to be petted, i still stayed away and it wasn't even me taking the picture, zoom or no zoom.

in the other areas we find those who really don't want to be there and have worn pacing lines by the perimeters as they dream about escape. take this big kitty - wonder if she sees dinner every time people pass by.... well, it looks like she just ate so was sitting down and preening, her friends were pacing...

this big guy, i think of him as wise and safe yet he is chained and has his sights beyond the fences too.

yield - thefreedictionary.com says it means "to give over possession of, as in deference or defeat; surrender.." (among many other definitions on that site and others) as a Christian, i choose to yield/to surrender to Christ every day. to yield my thoughts, my desires, my dreams, my life. is it easy - no! well sometimes it is but often its not. i am not chained or in a cage, yet i sometimes want things that do chain me to sin. Jesus wants to rescue me from the poacher and yet i go running away which is actually back to the poachers traps. do i forget that without His help i am yielding/being defeated by the enemy while yielding to Christ in surrender means winning in the long run?

i - and we all - can take comfort in our daily struggle by knowing that Jesus faced the same struggle on earth and especially during that night in Gethsemane. and He won in yielding His will to His Father as He promised we all can too.