A Folk Tale

"Write this"

 Exodus 17:14

Once there was a rabbit.  

A sweet little rabbit with a spunky personality and ribbons in her pigtails.

And the little rabbit was home-schooled ~ well, burrow-schooled.  She and her rabbit siblings.  And they loved being taught at home.  They loved learning in their jammies, and not having to be out of their cozy little hole in the ground first thing in the morning.

But like any learning bunnies, there were lessons that were hard for the little rabbit.  Subjects that made her think, think, think in her little rabbit mind.

She didn't mind that.  She was a rabbit who liked learning.  She studied hard, and did her lessons obediently and cheerfully.

With one exception.  One subject.

Writing.   Creative Writing.

Writing is a hard thing for a lot of kids.  The Momma Rabbit had come to know this as she taught her litter of bunnies.  There's just something about starting from scratch....  staring at a blank piece of paper.  It's intimidating.

Still, it had to be done.  Like fractions and diagramming.  So the Momma Rabbit assigned it.  And when she did, the pigtailed rabbit undertook the task obediently, but reluctantly.

One day, the writing assignment given to the little rabbit was to write a folk tale.  And the rabbit was especially uncomfortable.  She just didn't think she could.  She saw herself as an artist, and as a musician, not a writer.

But she tried.  And a few hours later, she hopped in to her mother and presented her with her effort.

The Momma Rabbit read it eagerly.

And she was impressed.  It was well-written, educational and entertaining.  It was a charming tale, set in the very woods in which they lived.  It was a tale of wanting ~ of wanting more.  And more.   And it was a tale of learning to appreciate what you have.  Of recognizing blessings, and knowing there are creatures who would love to have the gifts that you take for granted:  family, health, a home...

The Momma Rabbit was joyful, for two reasons.  First, the sweet knowledge that her hardworking, studious young rabbit was so aware of the blessings she had in her life, and that she appreciated them.   But the Momma Rabbit also hopped in delight at the fact that her little one had done so well.  The young rabbit had doubted herself.  But her mother knew all along that she could do it.  Otherwise she wouldn't have asked her to.

You see, the Momma Rabbit knew what God knows ~ that we need to be challenged.  That we need to stretch ourselves to find out what we are capable of.  And that others will be blessed by our efforts, and our successes.

Step up.  Step out.  Try.  There is no such thing as failure when we are in obedience to our Father.

~ "I have no greater joy 

     than to hear that my rabbits walk in truth" ~

3 John 1:4

~