Invest Contentment
Scarlet cried buckets of tears after watching Lucy Ladybug fly away. When she wasn’t scaling the window searching for Lucy to come back, she was hiding in a cactus plant in the bay window. She wasn’t getting any sleep with the noise from the kitchen, the clanging of pots and pans and the scraping of dishes. And she about jumped straight out of her little dome body when the garbage disposal turned on. But all of that was nothing compared to the enormous solid grey cat that jumped up to look out the window on the garden shelf. He never came when his name was called, “Olaf, Olaf, here kitty kitty kitty kitty.” He only left the window when he heard the sound of the can opener and that sound Scarlet was getting used to.
One time when Scarlet was just gazing out the window, Olaf swiped at her and she was hurled down onto the hard tile floor. It was everything she could do to get up enough strength to fly back into the safety of the plant.
You could barely recognize Scarlet’s little red body, the dirt was caked on so thick. She just laid in the planter and stopped looking for Lucy Ladybug.
Scarlet closed her eyes and remembered how it felt to have the wind in her wings, the sun on her back, the smell of the fall leaves in the air and all the aphids in the garden she could possibly eat. She was remembering it all...and she was so thankful for what she had.
Then she opened her eyes and looked around at her little home in the planter. She did have aphids and the sun streaming from outside to keep her warm and cozy. But more importantly, she had a really good hiding place from Olaf. And she became so thankful for what she had.
She began to crawl up the window and stopped in her tracks, “What a mess I am!” She said as she looked at her reflection in the glass. She slid down into the sink and landed in a small pool of water. She splashed around all over and then began fanning herself dry with her fragile wings as she sucked on a cactus leaf.
Ask your child:
What changed in Scarlet’s life?
What changed in Scarlet’s thinking?
"I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength." Philippians 4:11-13
Over its lifetime, a ladybug may consume as many as 5,000 aphids!
Ladybug drawing by Adeline Hanson / Click on the drawing to hear the audio version!
