Being toadally content.

Bonjour mes amis!
                                                                             Well peeps, as I was going through some pictures I ran across this beauty. As I was looking at it just screamed a story of contentment and that my peeps is what I need to learn this week. As I look around my messy house, think of the bills I need to pay and no money to do it with, I need to find some contentment. God is about to give me a lesson from a big fat toad, and I am standing by with my notebook and pencil ready, are you?

Story time: This my dear Peeps is our wild friend Toady. We have known Toady for some time now living in De Land, I think it has been about 4 yrs now, and he is part of our strange big family.
     Toad here is showing a true picture of being content under pressure. My little friend sat in my hands. Yes... my hands and didn't struggle or even pee on me which toads do. He just went with the flow, sat quietly, and listened. What did he hear? My voice, he knew my voice well. He had heard me say hello many times on the sidewalk at night when I went outside for some air. He knew I was his friend, and he knew I would not harm him. He was not afraid at all of me. As I held him in my hands, I had one of the girls take a picture of him and this was year 3. My little toady was looking plump that day, I had left my porch light on for him all Summer/ Fall so that he could eat all the bugs he wanted, and in return he would let me hold him and take pictures of him. You can say we understood each-other and had an understanding. He worked for food and I protected the toad on my front porch from the dogs. Never did I realized just how much i took that toad for granted.
                        Well one day changed all that. Toady decided to find some prime real estate in a large potted geranium on the back porch. He loved his new home, all was well and he was set for winter. Later on before the first frost, I brought my geranium inside the house and put it on the windowsill. "It looks so bright and cheery in the window" I said to myself :)  Well, weeks later when I went to water my plant lo and behold there was toady! His big yellow eyes and warty skin was peeking up at me under my plant, I almost had a heart attack right there on the spot! Never did I think he would be hanging out in there. So very gently I plucked him up and then looked out the window thinking this guy has to go out in the cold.  I was worried over a toad? Me? I was finally losing my mind. Anyhow, thank Goodness it was still fall and he had enough time to dig him a new home he would be just fine, right? Thats what I thought, but all winter long I worried about that toad. I was not content in my faith enough to believe that God would provide even for a toad.

                       Weeks turn into months and all summer long nowhere to be seen, was toad. I left the porch light on, I checked many nights for him and nothing.  We looked all over for him and thought we had sighted him by the woodpile but that toad was too thin and freaked out when touched. Another toad we checked out peed all over my hands, so it couldn't possibly be my toady. We did notice however an overabundance of baby toads everywhere, no bigger than your tip of your thumb. I picked up one and said to Hannah "This on resembles Toady, he has Toady's eyes." Hannah gave me that look of pride that you see on every grandmothers face, when holding her grandbabies. Toady that little devil, had a family :)
        We had almost given up hope it was the end of summer and no Toady, until one day a loud scream echoed throughout my house. "TOADY HAS BEEN FOUND!" said Abby. The prodigal Toad has returned. There he was in all his fatness, warts, and surprisingly rough skin, ready to have his picture taken. We then checked him out, measured his fatness against a large can of baked beans, declared him the official fat Toady boy prince of the fall time, and then took his picture. After all this, I kissed his warty nose goodbye, (and to prove to Hannah that you have to kiss a lot of toads, before you find your prince) and then we let him go. Until next year Mon petit prince. Au revoir!
               So peeps what is the lesson for today? When you are picked up and put in a place where you don't want to be, when you wonder how you will get by, be content in all circumstances. When you can't have the latest gadget, get the right job, or just be fashionable, be content in all things. When you are not popular with the in crowd, you don't get a hundred hits on your blog (uh Me????) or you want the newest expensive 15 dollar a skein of yarn, made in germany, be content with the 5 dollar a skein yarn made in china, be content.
                                                   The bible says in Hebrews 13:5
                                                            Keep your lives free from the love of money 

                                                  and be content with what you have, because God has said, 

                                                  "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."
        
               Do not be afraid peeps, God is with you.  My little prince Toady knew this, and he was not afraid. He was in God's hands, he knew his voice, he knew in the end he would be taken care of, and if it was time God would take him home.

Remember,
You can always go home :) Yvonne