So, I've been inspired to tell a story,
due to the fact that lately I've been reading fables
to my children and because of a happening today. . .
Once upon a time, one warm spring evening,
a sweet family was enjoying their supper outside.
Their attention was drawn to their puppy,
who (looking incredibly like a cat) was about to pounce
on an unsuspecting gopher, popping his
head up for a breath of the fresh air.
As they watched their puppy run back and forth,
between two of the tricky gopher's holes,
Father's irritation grew. Pretty soon, HE was poised
(with a golf club) ready to strike that unsuspecting gopher.
Of course, this was all to no avail. With great frustration,
Father said to his little ones, "I will give twenty dollars
to anyone who KILLS a gopher." (hmmmm. . .)
So, the next day, taking Father's challenge to heart,
the little boy set out in search of a gopher. Mother was a
bit curious that afternoon, when her son came inside
and asked out of the blue, "Mom, what do gopher's eat?"
She responded that she was unsure, and followed him
outside to investigate what had prompted the question. . .
To her disappointment, she found a HUGE
hole in the middle of the yard. When the little boy
was questioned, with tears in his eyes, he said,
"Yes, I dug the hole but ONLY to get a gopher,
and get dollars."
If you challenge a child to an impossible task,
you better be willing to forgive his
irrational behavior while trying to
complete the task. . .
It seemed to have just started spreading, because we came out right as all of the fire-engines and fire-helicopters started arriving. We live on a hill, so you can see by the picture that we had quite a view from our fence. This was a little too close to home for me, but boy the children thought it was cool!
I grew up in Georgia so the only real environmental threats I encountered as a kid were extreme heat (ha,ha), an occasional crazy thunderstorm that might knock over the pine trees around our house, and flying roaches :) My kids, on the other hand, have a few more serious threats that they have to put to rest in their little minds. We actually felt an earthquake yesterday, so that makes two days in a row of "life as we know it" in California!!
Drew prayed at the dinner table tonight, "Thank you that the firemen were able to get the big fire out on our mountain." I am amazed at how trusting my children have been today. They feel safe. They know that they are being taken care of - by their mom and dad, by the local fire-fighters and police, and by their LORD. I pray that my dear husband and I will continually have wisdom as we shepherd their little hearts through the ups and downs of life.
This evening as I made dinner Psalm 73:25,26 kept coming to my mind:
