For the last 18 months, we have had pigeons nesting under the eaves of our church building.

The job of deterring them has been a high priority.

The challenge, however, has been finding the time and the resources.

It has been 18 months of pigeon waste, which stinks, stains and is hard to remove after that amount of time.

On top of that, there were feathers, sticks and even a few eggs.

This past week I have finally had the chance to fill in the eaves of our church building to stop the pigeons nesting.

There is a bible verse that says “Where there are no oxen, the stable is clean”.

Today’s interpretation would say “Where there are no pigeons, the buildings are clean”.

The obvious meaning here, is that like oxen, pigeons make a mess.

Now the job has been done.

I had a chance to wash and clean the mess made by the pigeons, and other birds.

Knowing I have stopped them, hopefully for good, brings relief and joy.

This is not the first time our building has had a pigeon issue.

Luckily this time, they only nested on the outside of the building, and not inside like last time.

But this got me thinking.

How much do we tolerate mess and unwanted visitors in our life because we think we don’t have the time or the resources to either stop or discourage them.

The offenses and hurts that have stuck over time, can stink, and stain our heart or mind.

We can then find it hard to remove them because of the time that we have let those thoughts or memories nest in our heart or mind.

Ephesians 4:31-32 encourages us to remove all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

The way we overcome the offenses, hurts and discouragement, is to forgive quickly, remain kind, humble and compassionate towards others.

Doing this helps us Thrive.

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