What lessons can a flimsy piece of plastic frog provide? A cheap toy can teach much about tiny blessings delivered through a quiet, obedient mind.
Note about the image: Created using Microsoft Copilot.
My Mysterious Mind
During a recent visit to the chiropractor, I noticed a small bowl of cheap plastic frogs by the checkout counter. I sensed a prompt to take one but ignored the nudge. As I walked away, I turned back to the counter and asked if I could have one of the frogs. Granted permission, I picked out a frog and tucked it into my purse.
A few days later, I was at my daughter’s party in Indiana, a celebration of her turning 40. As she and her friends played a murder mystery game, her youngest was wrestling with the inflated “dead body.” I was watching from the edge of the party, having been tending to the food and games for the children present. I felt a nudge to get the frog from my purse, which was tucke to which I immediately complied.
Moments later, the grandson who had been playing with the inflated man began screaming and rushed to his mother. I approached her to offer help so she could continue overseeing the murder mystery game. She turned to me and said, “he’s bleeding.” I grabbed the distressed child from her arms and took him to the bathroom. He protested loudly as we left his mother.
In the bathroom, I tried to clean the blood from his hands and check his mouth for the source. This only made him cry more passionately. Then I remembered the frog.
I showed him how the frog could jump into the sink into the stream of water. His crying turned quickly into laughter. As he watched me make the frog jump into the sink, he allowed me to wash his hands and face. He enjoyed the frog so much he didn’t want to leave the bathroom, even with the promise of going to see his mother.
That little frog was the key to turning his distress into joy.
The blessing of that frog was ready at that moment because I had responded to the nudge to pick one out of the bowl at the chiropractor’s office. And days later I had acted when prompted to grab it from my purse. The blessing was ready because I listened and obeyed these seemingly silly impulses.
The funny thing is – I can’t find the frog now. I have no idea where it is. After deciding to include the frog story in this message, I began searching for this tiny harbinger of joy. I guess its mission is completed; I had to rely on AI to create an image.
The frog has me thinking about the many times when I “just happen to have” exactly what I need. An avid watcher of “Let’s Make a Deal” as a child, I have trivial items in my purse, just in case. I travel lighter than I did when raising small children, and my purse is smaller, too. But the frog in my hand when my grandson needed its joy is special. This was no random alignment of stuff and need. The frog can teach us about tiny blessings we might otherwise miss.
Message of Mystery Acres
Our little patch of forest wasn’t the first bit of land my husband and I considered buying. There was a beautiful piece bordered by a river on one side, a creek along another, and it had a pond. It was more than we had been seeking and would have stretched our finances considerably to purchase it. My husband sought a way to make it work, but I resisted going into debt for it. Yes, I loved it, too, but I had no peace about buying it. And so, we didn’t.
There are characteristics of that property we would have loved, but we later learned the asking price was far above its worth. We would have stretched ourselves financially to buy something for too high a price. My “peace barometer” told me to pass on buying it, though it was incredibly lovely.
The day my husband and I first walked the 17.5 acres of what we would later name Mystery Acres, was a winter’s day with an enchanting layer of snow through which we and the realtor hiked. The place stirred me deeply. After we returned home, I had no peace about not buying it.
We made an offer, which was accepted. The closing was on my birthday in 2019. We had enough money to pay for the property without borrowing. Over the years, we have added infrastructure, paying as we go for the improvements. One important feature it still lacks is a place to go fishing. Somehow, we are going to need to add a pond.
The message of Mystery Acres is a quiet voice of peace. When a path feels wrong, and peace is missing, it’s better to go another way, or at least pause until the next step is clear. The peace barometer was my guide to purchasing my sacred bit of forest, it was also the reason I turned back and grabbed one of those plastic frogs.
Ancient Mystery’s Voice
“You will keep the mind focused on You in perfect peace.” (Isaiah 26:3)
Where does peace originate? According to the book of Isaiah, the prophet, peace originates from a mind focused on God. In fact, Isaiah described such a peace as “perfect.” Logically, a distracted mind would be lacking in complete peace.
Life is full of decision points. Each step opens the options for the next step. And sometimes the next step isn’t a step at all, but a pause, awaiting further instructions. Such is often the case when I write these messages. If the next words don’t come to mind, I pause until they do. Sometimes that pause involves arranging a bookshelf or putting away laundry. My dog Oscar prefers the pauses when I sit in the recliner and quietly listen for the next words. He relaxes at my side and “listens” with me.
Focused. A quiet mind. Alert to subtle nudges. Patient to wait for guidance when it seems tardy.
These are the conditions for perfect peace, conditions easily disrupted by distractions, noise, rebellion, and impatience.
In a quiet moment of focus I heard and obeyed the prompt to grab a plastic frog. Days later, in another moment of quiet focus I heard and obeyed the nudge to get it out of my purse. Waiting for further instructions, I heard the cries of my grandson and the suggestion to calm him with that frog.
Ancient Mystery’s Voice beckons quietly for a focused mind on the One we cannot see with our eyes or hear with our ears. From that place of perfect peace, the voice of a mysterious Spirit provides directions. Go this way. Pause. Grab a plastic frog. Be ready. Respond. These small acts of obedience yield tiny blessings along life’s path.
Living in Mystery
What does the mysterious story of the frog and its tiny blessings teach us about how to live? The story’s lessons begin with the condition of the mind. To receive tiny blessings of having the right resources at exactly the right moment begins with a quiet, focused mind. Promptings, such as grabbing a plastic frog, are almost imperceptible. Only an undistracted mind can sense such urges. The ripples across awareness are only detectible when the surface of perception is calm.
Such a focus isn’t our default nature, but the peace barometer helps us know when we have slipped out of focus. The mind focused on God is at perfect peace. As focus diminishes, so does peace. When distractions rule the mind, agitation permeates, replacing peace with restlessness. This unsettled feeling can serve as a barometer that the mind has lost its focus on the One who provides peace. Restoring peace requires a quieting of the mind, with thoughts turned to the Divine source of guidance and supply. Reading a Psalm helps me.
Distraction isn’t the only way to lose peace; disobedience is another. If peace is missing because of failing to act as prompted, peace can be restored by obeying the mysterious nudges of the Spirit. This may require going back to where you were and doing what you felt you were supposed to do. When this isn’t possible, peace can be restored by recognizing how it was lost through not heeding the prompting, vowing to be more compliant in the future.
The frog and its tiny blessing offer reminders for how to live in step with the path of peace. First, remember to focus your mind on God, minimizing the noise from within and the distractions all around. In that place of quietness, listen to the nudges for when and where to step, when to pause, and what to do along the way. Remain alert to the barometer of peace, noticing what disobedience might be destroying peace, and what obedience might reorient you into a place of greater peace. There are metaphorical frogs in your path, just as there was a literal one in mine; we experience these tiny blessings when we are calm, obedient, and alert.
Connecting with Mystery
Dear Lord of All Mystery, I wonder what peace I often forfeit by not keeping my mind focused on You. Help me to notice when my peace is diminished or missing and use that to remind me to quiet myself in Your presence. Thank You for providing the lessons of the frog, how tiny blessings can be delivered through simple acts of obedience. May I live more fully in Your perfect peace. Amen.
Notes from Dr. Mac
If you want to do your own investigation of any of the scriptures I use, try Bible Gateway. Ponder Isaiah chapter 26, verse three, quieting your mind to a place of perfect peace.
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