In last week's reflection, I said, "Just anybody can catch a frog. And what can frogs do? They croak, jump, and dampen the hands of whoever is holding them. (I'll have to change my attitude in a week or so, because another granddaughter loves frogs.)"
Well, that day has arrived.
If you've been reading these weekly reflections for some time, you know that I have my own names for our younger daughter's children. Rebecca's oldest offspring is Hannah, but I call this granddaughter my Kitten.
Kitten came to spend a week with us, and she discovered several Arkansas amphibians. She would have stayed longer, but we had to get her home so she could celebrate her 13th birthday anniversary with her family. Here is Kitten's report of her visit.
When I went to spend a week at Grandma and Grandpa Linzey's house, we had a fun time. I had coffee some mornings, and I slept in the pink room. Grandpa taught me how to make my bed, and every morning we read five chapters in the Bible.
I had a lot of fun with Grandma Linzey. We put together a 500-piece puzzle, and Grandma helped me with my English Lessons.
I did a lot of yard work with Grandpa, and it was fun. We cleaned out the bird bath, and I got to ride on the lawn mower! After we mowed, there were lots of robins on the grass. We cleared pine needles from all around the yard and made a bonfire to cook hot dogs.
One time we went to Flint Ridge, but I got carsick on the way there. That wasn't fun. Plus, our car was having problems so we just went back home.
We played Scrabble or Upwords almost every night. One night, we played National Parks Monopoly. Grandpa had other things he needed to do, and left after a little while, so Grandma and I kept on playing. Grandma Linzey won.
Grandpa Linzey also taught me a science lesson about the planet Jupiter. My brother and sisters and I like his lessons. He makes them fun.
I caught a little frog out by the barn that had yellow legs and a brown and gray back. Because of its coloring, Grandpa said it looked like an "army frog." It was my friend the whole week, and I called it "Froggy." I trained it to jump over my hand when I put my hand down in front of it. I let it swim in the bird bath and it liked that. It was a friendly frog and it would stay on my hand or on my shoulder without jumping off. Sometimes, when I would rub it's back with a dandelion puff, it would chirp.
I also caught a toad. Froggy was about the size of the toad's head. When I put Froggy and the toad together, the frog hopped on top of the toad's head! I let the toad go the next day, and at the end of the week I let little Froggy go. It was very happy.
Grandpa told me about when he saw two long snakes chasing a big frog. That must have been really funny. I'm glad the frog got away.
I enjoyed my visit, and want to go back soon.
Do you remember my prior accusation about frogs? I said, "And what can frogs do? They croak, jump, and dampen the hands of whoever is holding them." Well, I suppose I wasn't entirely correct, because that didn't happen to my Kitten. Froggy was kind and considerate to her – not like the frogs I caught when I was a kid. But then, there was a difference between how I treated the critters and how Kitten treated them.
I thought of them as lowly amphibians, way down the scale of the animal kingdom. I, the exalted human, was playing with a lowly mud-hopper. But Kitten interacted with them as friends. She was kind and caring toward the little creatures. She loved them.
That reminds me of God and mankind. God could relegate us to the animal kingdom and ignore us forever. But He loves us. He made man in His image (more on that in another reflection), and has made plans to interact with us for eternity. However, only those who obey Him will enjoy His eternal benefits.
I hope you are in that company.
This reflection was written by Hannah R. Crawford and S. Eugene Linzey, who is author of Charter of the Christian Faith. Send comments and questions to [email protected]. Visit his website at www.genelinzey.com. The opinions expressed are those of the author.