F.R.O.G . (Fully Rely on God)

My swimming pool sits empty until it rains. With enough rainwater gathered and slow drainage, little critters emerge - spiders, insects, snails, frogs, and the occasional wayward lizard. The spiders and insects I leave to fend for themselves. The snails, frogs, and lizards I rescue. 

This is how I begin a day - enter the pool, search for these little snails and frogs, collect them, and relocate them. If I neglect this early morning task, they will die by day's end, fried by the heat of the Texas summer sun. The snails are SO much easier to rescue than those tiny little frog babies. The lizards are SO much harder, but less common. 

When there are more than one or two frogs to rescue, I collect them in the big, deep pockets of my pajama shorts. 

When one of the little guys tries to hop away, I promise him I am simply trying to save his life. "Just be still," I say as I maneuver my way around him. 

When they attempt to squirm out of my hand or leap out of my pocket, I tell them that I know they are scared, but I am doing this for their benefit. They will soon be safe and free. I tell them that I know life may be difficult outside of the pool as well, and I have no guarantees that they will have a safe or easy life, but I can guarantee that if they do not let me get them out, they will most definitely die. At least out there, they will have a fighting chance. 

Unfortunately, I am unable to save all of them. Some do not come out of hiding from underneath the murky water until it is too late. Some frantically hop away from me, too quick and slippery to be caught. These stinkers dive back into the water and swim down the drainage hole out of my reach. When I come home in the afternoon to look for them, hoping they stayed in the cool of the water until I return, sometimes I discover that one or more are dead - hard as a rock and melted to the floor of the pool. 

Yep, I mourn for those I was unable to save, but it was not for lack of trying. They simply did not want to be saved and that decision cost them their lives. 

I often think of our relationship with Jesus during my morning jaunts with the frogs. We are those scared and helpless baby frogs and Jesus is just trying to save us and set us free. 

 F.R.O.G. - Fully Rely On God - no matter how afraid we may feel.