Devotional 12-6-18

The Serenade of Frogs
 

People were also bringing babies to Jesus to have him touch them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to him and said, “let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.  Luke 18: 15-17; Matt. 18: 1-6.

I was reminded of these passages of scripture a couple of months ago when Gisela and I had the opportunity to spend some time with our three year old granddaughter Caroline in the early evening hours before her bedtime. We were playing in the backyard at our son and daughter-in-law’s house. As the sun began to set, I heard the faint sound of frogs croaking in and around a small grassy stream that runs below their property. To hear the sounds more clearly, I sat down on a grassy patch nearby and then called Caroline and Gisela over to join me.

Caroline sat right next to me on the grass and Gisela stood beside us. I told them to be very quiet so we could hear the sound of the frogs singing nearby. We started a game by counting on each hand the number of times we could hear the sound of a frog croak. For each of these distinctive sounds, we would hold up a finger in the air. As the minutes passed by, the croaking became louder and more frequent to the point that the sound of the frogs seemed to blend into one steady song or serenade of small creatures. The louder, the closer, and the more harmonious the sounds became, the brighter Caroline’s blue eyes would become and the bigger the smile would show on her little face. It wasn’t long before the three of us were all holding up five fingers on each hand to show the number of sounds we heard from the frogs around us.  Before we got up to leave, the frogs began to sing in unison, as if they were all croaking a message to each other, happy that they were all alive and well. When I suggested to Caroline that the frogs may be singing to each other and to us, she began to sing back to them, the one song she knew best—Happy Birthday.  Then, as if singing with the frogs, the three of us joined together in a birthday song which became part of the frogs’ serenade to everything around us. To add to the beauty of these moments, Caroline pointed to a gleam of sunlight showing in the woods ahead of us and remarked in her excited little way, “that’s where the deer sleep.”

This experience made us appreciate the importance of spending more quality time with Caroline and her two month old brother Connor in the months and years ahead, no matter how short that time may seem to be.  On these occasions, we will always recall Jesus’ words that “the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” and enjoy those moments when a child shows the natural ability to love, care for, and respect all of God’s creations, whether it be other family members or friends, serenading frogs, or deer that have found a place to sleep at night. Love, innocence, and caring for even the simplest of God’s creatures is what a child teaches us and makes us seek and strive for the heavenly kingdom where we can all live in such harmony. Thank you God for the serenading frogs, for the deer that have a place to sleep at night, and for our little granddaughter who made spending this time together so special.
 
Dan Kemper