Gifts from a Watering Can
“Daily God is telling us of our treasures and daily we fight the willingness and ability to seek the hidden. However, even if we have to get the heavy artillery out, when we peel back the layers of our pride and ego, then eventually we find that gem that is promised to us.”
- Jenni Starling
Let me try to paint this picture clearly for you of my 7 year old son. He is a typical boy who smashes and crashes ALL the things. He only wants to be outside and catches every kind of critter he can catch. And he smells, Oh lord this child smells.
He spent all day, as in from 10am to 8pm, catching frogs and lizards AND bugs to feed them. During this critter adventure, he tried convincing me that there was a frog stuck in my watering can. Now my watering can is an old school one, fire engine red and metal. I love it! It reminds me of the one my grandma used to have. So in my head, there was no way a frog could get in, crawl up inside, and get stuck.
All day though this kid was relentless. He stayed on me about how it was in there while he tried to poke this “frog” out of the can. Finally, late that evening, he came to me and said, “Mom can’t you see it through those holes?” I faintly saw something but it could have been water bubbles or just my mind playing tricks on me. So, I dismissed it. But the kid WOULD NOT STOP. Then through the little holes, I saw movement. It was a frog at the top of the water spout of my watering can. So, we got the wire cutters and began to slowly and carefully peel back the metal. As we did, there stood the beloved frog.
As I read my bible this morning, I thought about that whole exercise of peeling back that can to find our treasure. Matthew 13:44 tells us that “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure, buried in a field, that a man found and reburied.” For my little 7-year-old son, “treasure” is indeed every frog on this planet. This experience with him taught me how God does this with us. Daily God is telling us of our treasures and daily we fight the willingness and ability to seek the hidden. However, even if we have to get the heavy artillery out, when we peel back the layers of our pride and ego, then eventually we find that gem that is promised to us. One man’s frog truly is another man’s treasure.
The red watering can and that tiny little frog taught me that God’s treasures are always there waiting for us. Regardless if we believe it or not or if we can see it or not. It is there, waiting. God uses every opportunity to teach us about his grace and the treasures that await us.
