Posted May 31, 2023

Oscar was sitting patiently on a lily pad, waiting for supper to fly by. It was a perfect day. The sun was warm, his pond was beautiful and he had lots of friends close by. As Oscar contemplated his wonderful life, a disturbing question suddenly flashed into his mind! Do frogs go to heaven? At first he tried to ignore the question. What a silly thought. But he couldn’t get rid of it. In fact a fly just went by and he forgot to grab it.

Oscar thought back to his early days as a tadpole. There were stories told back then as they sat around in the evenings, watching the fireflies. Old Croaker talked of cities of gold floating in the air with millions of frogs. Every frog had flies brought to him whenever he was hungry and fish put on a show every afternoon for the crowds of frogs. Every frog was provided a cozy nest lily pad and never had to work. Old Croaker spun quite a tale of a luxurious life in this golden city.

Whoa – King Fisher just swooped in and nearly knocked me off my pad. He was all excited and told us about the big shopping complex that was being built up the road. We could hear the noise if the wind was blowing just right. He was sure this would bring lots of scraps for him to eat.

As he told us what shopping complex’s were like, it sounded a bit like Old Croaker’s stories of heaven. Were they building a heaven just up the road? It sounded immense and all that shiny glass and marble.

But then King Fisher started talking about all the trees they cut down and the wonderful ponds he used to fish in that were now filled and leveled. Seems like all the locals were forced to relocate. But maybe you have to do that to build a heaven!

I spent the rest of the afternoon thinking about King Fisher’s stories of the shopping complex. Would I want to live forever in that “heaven”?

Back in my tadpole days, I also remember Old Croaker talking about some beautiful garden that all life began in. It sounded wonderful with all the animals getting along and gentle breezes rustling the leaves. He told of babbling creeks full of little getaways. He said everybody was always busy but happy.

There were children playing in the clear streams and picnics spread on the grassy areas. Frogs would go right up to the edge and they would toss them bread crumbs to snack on. Sometimes frogs jumped in the children’s laps and they would squeal with delight and stroke the frogs back. That sounded really nice to me.

Oh – here comes a fly. Whack – that was tasty! The lily pad swayed as a ripple spread across the pond. What if heaven was really a garden like Old Croaker described. I’d want to go there. After all, being entertained by a bunch of fish everyday would probably get boring. I like hopping around the pond every day and seeing what is growing and looking for fresh snacks. It’s so green and lush.

Every day is a little different and that makes it interesting. Sure I have to work some, but I like being active and participating in pond life. I wish there were more neighboring ponds to visit. That would be heaven to me. Then I could visit all the other local ponds and enjoy their versions of heaven. I really think a green heaven is better than a gold one. ....Oscar the frog

The above story is called a parable.

Read the above story to your kids and see where they think Oscar would be the happiest.

Life is so full of places to run to – things to squeeze in, but is that running around bringing peace and joy to your heart and your kids?

Recently I heard that kids spend 4-6 minutes outdoors and 4-6 hours each day in front of a screen. A parent commented that it was unsafe for kids to be outdoors. A police officer stood up and said statistics show that kids are in no more danger today than 50 years ago, it’s just that the media scares parents with every story of parenting fails.

It’s time to get your kids outdoors! I recently was told of a website called 1000HoursOutdoors.com and I met the author at a conference. She was very inspiring!

So take your kids to the woods, take a stool, and sit as they explore all the little things. Have a bag to collect some “treasures” and a magnifying glass. It doesn’t matter if you make it to the end of the trail or only a hundred feet. Discover the creation all around you! A slow reflective, observant walk on a trail is the best therapy for a too busy world. Live fully in the moment.

Enjoy your pond!

This newsletter is Oscar approved.

That’s what good play is all about.

No directions, nobody telling you that
“you can’t do it that way”.

It’s pure discovery!