Sharing builds trust... by Maribeth Jordan

I once had a raccoon come up to the bird feeder at night and eat what dropped on the ground... Every night like clockwork she would be there. I started to throw some food out for her - she would watch me, hesitate and then sneak to go eat it. Soon it became a habit for her to come sit by the bird feeder and wait for me to throw some food. This continued on for about a month....  one night I was so engrossed in a movie I forgot about her.... well she didn't forget about me because to my surprise she was at the glass door standing on her hind legs peering in through the window to see if I was there....:) It got to the point where I could go outside and she would stand right by my feet and take food from my hand.

One night it stopped - no raccoon.  Over the next couple of nights it was the same thing....nights turned into weeks and before I knew it a month had passed and she was simply gone. I couldn't imagine what had happened to her. It was sad and I felt like I had lost a little friend.

One evening my husband and I were grilling steaks out on the back patio and coming up from the back hill was the raccoon and five little ones following her! I was so excited I ran in the house and grabbed a box of peanut butter Captain Crunch to give her and her little ones. Needless to say they loved the cereal and were so excited they were running all around our feet and trying to come into the house form the sliding glass door... they were eating out of our hands and the mama was just sitting back watching this all happen.

There is a point to this story... it is amazing what time in building trust can do. This scared female raccoon who once snook up to the feeder was now bringing her babies for us to feed! I think as humans we think to much.... we let our emotions get in the way of peace, joy and happiness. We want it NOW... sometimes in life it takes time for things to change - circumstances, feelings, trust and so forth. We can learn alot from this raccoon. She proceeded with caution and the good was building in time. With time she got closer and closer.... I kept on feeding her and she kept coming back because it was good for her. We can compare this to how we treat other people. If we have burnt a bridge we can build that bridge back by doing small things that would build trust... being persistent like the raccoon or being faithful to give like me... whether your situation is the "raccoon" or "me"( the persister or the giver) it does take effort and willingness... each one has to be faithful in their part not worrying about the other.... if you know you have been doing/acting right then just wait... lots of little surprises may be just around the corner for you to!

Remember this... sharing builds trust.