Oh Ruth!..A Lesson From Mom

Today, like every day I was thinking about and missing mom.  Though it has been 3 years and 3 months, not one moment goes by that she is not in my heart.  For those of you who did not have the privilege of knowing mom, she was a rather quirky lady-yes, I get it honest.  She was a teacher, so every conversation that I had with her had some kind of lesson, usually one that kicked me off of my pedestal that all high school students put themselves on because I thought I belonged there.  If it wasn’t a life lesson, it was a grammar lesson; at the time it was so annoying, but I know where my commas belong.  Her famous quote was “commas are like vowels in wheel of fortune; they aren’t free so use them wisely.”  Quirky! But it stuck. 

A lesson I remember so vividly is when a frog got caught in a coffee can lid outside of our house.  My brother, Matthew is a huge lover of animals; when one was in trouble he had to do something about it.  Now, please don’t ask me why there was a coffee can lid in our yard; and furthermore, I could not begin to tell you how a hole got in it, but mind you two boys were always rummaging around in the yard with destruction in mind.  

I distinctly remember this day, it was cold outside and Matthew came in the house with an upset look on his face.  He told mom and dad to come outside and help.  Being the nosy sister that I am, I pranced behind them halfway hoping he was in trouble.  As we rounded the corner of the house I saw a frog stuck in a hole in a coffee can lid.  Matthew picked it up desperately wanting to help the little guy out.  The coffee can lid had separated the frog from something he wanted; so the frog put his head and front legs through the hole and began to eat.  As he ate, his stomach got bigger; he then tried to get his entire body through the hole, leaving him stuck.

Without hesitation, here came the lesson on sin. I was always amazed as to how quickly she could spit these lessons out.  The frog saw something he wanted, though there were other things around that he could eat, he desired that particular thing.  “Sometimes when we submit to our selfish desires, sin gets us caught in a trap, like the frog.”  Of course the lesson lasted much longer with many, many Bible verses to back her up.  Romans 6:23, For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ.  Had my brother not found the frog, it would have died.  Again, quirky, but it stuck!

You are probably wondering if the frog survived his sin and the lengthy lesson we (even dad) all received-yes he lived.  After being smothered in vasoline, they finally had to cut the lid to release him.  It was a long and tedious escape-one that I would have given up on and let the frog meet Jesus that day. 

Mom and I went back in the house and I said, in a cocky tone (poking fun at mom’s lesson), “well, I hope that frog learned his lesson.”  Mom replied, “Oh Ruth, that frog is just like you.  You know it will get you in trouble, but you return to it anyway.  We just need to be so thankful for a savior so full of grace and mercy because if He weren’t He’d leave us stuck in that hole.” 

Ah yes, knocked off of my pedestal once again.

Kenze