A Modern Fable

What is the moral or morals of my story?

There once was a grumpy bear named Dexter and a friendly squirrel named Caleb.  The two were talking one day when both took notice of a large blackberry bush, teeming with succulent blackberries, across the river. The river between them and the bush was not wide but it was deep and raging, though only about half as deep as usual, since it had been a dry winter.  Dexter piped up first. “I’m going to get me some of those berries!”

“That would be wonderful,” replied Caleb.  “I would love to gather some to share with all our forest friends.”

“Oh, no,” grumbled Dexter, “If I work that hard to get over there, I’m not sharing.”

With that, Dexter got up and jumped dramatically off the bank into the river’s edge and began to tenaciously walk against the current. Suddenly, he was caught up in it and swept down river.  He almost drowned, but finally grabbed onto the side of a boulder sticking out of the low river, some sixty feet downstream. He heaved himself onto the bank again with a belly flop and a gasp.

At first, Caleb was shocked by what he saw. He squinted at Dexter and then looked back at the half empty river and contemplated it awhile. With a plan in mind, Caleb then got up, went and rounded up as many of his forest friends as he could and told them what he’d witnessed and what he wanted to do for all of them. By that time, Dexter had crawled back to the place he started, but a little more humble and embarrassed.  He asked Caleb if he had gathered all his friends to jeer at him.

“Oh no,” Caleb replied. “I’ve brought them all here to work together to get those blackberries…but I do need your help.”

“Okay, but I’m not stepping into that engorged river again!”

“No need,” Caleb replied, “we will bridge that gap over the river together.”  With that, he guided Dexter back to the river bank and to the narrowest point possible where a flexible young tree grew.  At his guidance, Dexter laid his big body across a large young branch and leaned out over the water with its support until he formed a bridge.  The other animals happily jumped up and stationed themselves across Dexter’s back all the way to the berries. Like a fire brigade, they worked to take handfuls and pass them to each other across Dexter’s bridge to those stationed on the other side.  When there was plenty for all, the group walked back across Dexter. Then together they pulled on the back of the tree limb to leverage Dexter back off the river banks and catapulted him softly back to the ground, where he too got to share the fruit of everyone’s labor.

How a Scrapbook can Leave a Legacy, Help a Teacher

"Miss Pam," my now 2nd grader's Pre-school teacher, wrote me on Facebook today:
"How is Jessica doing?  I have been thinking about you guys a lot lately.  Do you remember that [digital scrap]book you made me from our trip to the zoo?  I read it to my class every year when we are getting ready to go.  It was so cute, this year a little girl thought that Jessica was her.  (I must admit, they did look a like).  She kept saying it was her book and wanted to take it home.  We compromised.  I kept it in a very special place in the classroom and she is able to look at it when ever she wants to.  Thought you might like to know that it is still getting lots of good use!!"

- Warms my heart!  The gift that keeps giving back!  Happy Friday!  RDN

Blinders

Today was the last day of summer camp for our little second grade daughter, Jessica.  The last day of fun in the sun, swimming (her favorite) and sticky afternoon treats in front of old videos.   I received a call mid-morning from the office (who knows me fairly well because I had worked for the camp and school off and on).   It seems that Jessica had a pair of those cheap, roll-up, film "sunglasses" that the doctors give you when your eyes are dilated.   The question I got out of the blue was, "Did you give Jessica these; she says you did?"  My first response was, "Today...no."  The administrator explained that a little boy who "needs" them says they are his, and Jessica claims they are hers and that her mom had given them to her.   "We are telling her she cannot go swimming, if she isn't telling the truth," she reported somewhat sternly.   

Then it dawned on me.  "Well, I actually did give Jessica a pair of these about two weeks ago," I said matter-of-factually.  I had been cleaning and found the old pair and had offered them to my crafty and imaginative little seven year old, deciding she could probably use them for some fun purpose.  

The lady on the other end replied, "Oh, well then maybe they are hers?"  I asked if I could talk to Jessica at that point.   I heard a sobbing little voice answer, "They are mine, Momma."  I gently reprimanded her for taking toys to school, as this was generally a school no-no.  (Granted, she could take beach gear like glasses to the pool.)   "But I'm afraid they won't let me go swimming."   I told her, "You know, they probably are yours, but if this little boy needs them, let's just let him have them so you can go swimming.  They aren't all that important to us.  I will tell them."  "Okay."  I then explained to the administrator that I didn't know whose they were, but if the little boy needed them, he should have them.  It's not that big a deal and that she wanted to be able to go swimming.

I got off the phone a little "put out" about how much was made of such a silly little thing.  The adults present couldn't resolve it themselves over there?  You know, we momma bears get our fur ruffled when our babies are called liars and are tearful over it.  I reasoned that even if she wasn't telling the truth, at her age, she may have "perceived" that they were her glasses, since they looked like the ones she owned.  She had no doubt took them to camp to wear to the pool and "impress" her little friends.  As I tried to tell myself to just forget about it and that it was  trivial, the Holy Spirit seemed to bring to memory something Jesus said...

"And if anyone wants to sue you and take your undershirt (tunic), let him have your coat also." Matthew 5:40 AMPLIFIED Version

This is where Jesus told us to "turn the other cheek" and not return evil for evil but instead, as THE MESSAGE (C) Bible puts it: 

"If someone strikes you, stand there and take it. If someone drags you into court and sues for the shirt off your back, gift-wrap your best coat and make a present of it. And if someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously."  Matthew 5:38-42

It was a great opportunity later that afternoon to tell Jessica she had done the right thing in spite of being accused of doing the wrong thing; and that I was proud of her, as was Jesus.   Turns out, she said, that the little boy found his  glasses after all.  She had told the truth.  Best of all, she got to go swimming.  Bless the Lord for teachable moments.  We can "sweat the small stuff "or use them for good.   Joseph, the mistreated little brother, who became second ruler in all of Egypt, told his siblings,

"But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive."  Genesis 50:20  NKJV

Okay, so maybe no one saved a life today, but  she was willing to let go of something for another's comfort and we got to keep a little girl's heart from breaking.    Happy Friday!  RDN