The other day as I sat on my throne surveying my kingdom, my eyes fell upon a little brown spot atop a shampoo bottle I had left on the floor for want of storage space. Turned out the ‘spot’ was all of an inch long, had two eyes, four legs and could croak! I wasn’t shocked, I was moved by emotions! How had such a tiny creature managed to find himself here?!?!? Was he truly my Prince Charming in disguise, come to establish rule in this new found land? Would he rule my land or rule my heart? Would a simple kiss release him from his curse? And would we live happily ever after just like all the fairy tales?
Pinch hard. Come back to reality, woman! I had a frog in my bathroom!
To cut the long story short, I left him to survive for two days and nights in a corner of my bathroom while I was in consultation with my ‘Board of Advisors’ as to what should be done about him.
He was christened Jeremiah (Jeremy in short) after the song “Jeremiah the Bullfrog”. And he was greeted by name the first evening and the morning after.
But after much research on keeping frogs as pets I finally decided that I had to let him go for his own good. So I used a technique suggested by my BOA, and was able to capture him in a tall Java Green plastic cup without any physical harm done to him (let me make that clear, just in case Maneka Gandhi wants to sue me!). And so I transported him to my kitchen, where I meant to keep him a mere half hour while I completed my ablutions in complete peace and privacy.
My dear Jeremy however, could not understand the terrible fate that had befallen him. He was in a frenzy, jumping up and down with his skinny legs, trying to find a way out of the cup. It must have looked to him that the sky had closed in on him and was soon to fall on his head! I felt pity for the poor creature, but I knew I had the best intentions in mind for him, so all I said to him was, “Jeremy, sit still!” And with that I marched off and returned exactly half an hour later as planned, carried the Java Green cup out and set little Jeremy free forever.
What came of my Prince Charming I do not know, but that incident reminded me of how we ourselves are when we face problems. Just like Jeremy, we get all worried and anxious thinking it’s the end of the world. We jump up and down, doing everything we can in our own might to get out of the uncomfortable situation we’re in because we think it’s all wrong. And all the while God is up there watching over us, knowing exactly what he has planned for us and simply saying, “Sit still!” The beauty of it is that God keeps His word and He makes all things beautiful in His time.
While you ponder over that, let me leave you with one of my favorite verses from scripture:
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” – Jeremiah 29:11
The Well Watered Tree 