Coco Calling No.194 - The Curious Case of the Umbrella in the Ceiling

My owner recently attended a staff meeting at the school where he works. No, he’s not bright enough to be one of the teachers; he’s actually a school dinner man, but he still gets invited along.

He arrived slightly late, and it was only after he’d been in the crowded classroom for some moments that he glanced up and noticed the bottom half of an umbrella poking out through a hole in the ceiling. In fact this strange phenomenon caught the attention of quite a few of the staff and there was a lot of quiet nudging and gesturing as the meeting unfolded. The headmaster ran through his agenda as though everything was as normal until one of the members of staff finally piped up and asked: “So what happened to Mary Poppins then?”

Well, it turns out that some of my feathered friends were responsible. A pair of Jackdaws had got into the school roof. Not content with the attic space, they’d gnawed a hole through the classroom ceiling in the middle of the night and had a wonderful time flying around triggering every alarm in the school. The poor headmaster, armed only with an umbrella, had to get out of bed at some unearthly hour and entered the school expecting to find it full of human intruders. Instead, there were two feathery ones that were quickly ejected and to avoid the same thing from happening again, he’d plugged the hole in the ceiling with his umbrella until it could be properly repaired. And when everyone knew the full story, the fact there was an umbrella sticking out of the ceiling made perfect sense.

Humans often say that God works in mysterious ways. OK, God doesn’t normally put umbrellas into ceilings, but here on Earth, we don’t always know why certain things happen or why they have to be as they are. Humans often ask why some of their young are born with disabilities or why there is illness and disease and suffering here on Earth. Or why some die young or never seem to have a chance while others prosper and thrive. And we simply have to accept that we don’t always know the full story but it’s important for us to place our trust in God at all times because He knows what He’s doing. And whatever He does is ultimately for the good of us all.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.”

(Proverbs 3:5).

“We live by faith, not by sight.”

(2 Corinthians 5:7).

“Let your life reflect the faith you have in God. Fear nothing and pray about everything. Be strong, trusts in God’s word, and trust in the process.” (Germany Kent: 1975 – present: American print and TV journalist).