A quick explanation: On Monday, my friend Danny challenged me to write a children’s story. So I thought about how to expand “The Cricket’s Tragedy.” Before it was finished, though, it had morphed into less of a children’s story and more of a parable. Here was that attempt.

Chirp, Chip, Charlie, Chuck, and God

Chirp is a cricket.  He lives in a small garden and eats the leaves of the vegetables.  He sleeps under a small rock in one of the garden rows.  Chirp’s life was going great… until one day.

As Chirp was eating a delicious leaf, a giant orange blur swatted him out of nowhere, knocking him from his perch.  Chirp landed, terrified.  What was that?!  He hopped away through the plants as fast as he could go.  When he finally got to a place where he felt safe again, Chirp was worried.  He was in a different part of the garden, far from his little burrow under the rock, and far from the leaves he liked to munch on.  This part of the garden had different smells and different kinds of leaves.  “What a terrible day!” the little cricket thought to himself.

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Chip is an orange cat.  He lives in the backyard and plays in the garden.  One day, while stalking around the vegetables, Chip saw a cricket perched on a leaf.  Chip was bored and wanted to play with the little cricket.  He might even eat it later if he could catch it.  So Chip swiped at the little bug with his paw, and the cricket jumped away.  Chip chased it through the plants for a moment, but the little bug soon vanished.

Then Chip heard a sound in the backyard.  It was the boy who lived in the house.  Chip ran to hide in the plants because the boy often played rough with him.  Chip didn’t like being picked up, or made to dance around, or the way the boy would yell and make a lot of noise. 

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Charlie is five years old.  He lives in a house with a backyard and a little garden.  Charlie’s family moved to this house just a few months ago, and Charlie doesn’t have many friends.  But Charlie loves to play with his cat Chip.  It’s always fun to dress Chip up, or pretend like he’s dancing, or swing him around and around.  Sometimes Chip hisses at him and runs away, but Charlie knows that Chip is his best friend.  And after all, Chip always comes running when Charlie pours the cat food into his bowl.

Charlie moved here with his dad, but his mom stayed in their old house in Ohio.  Charlie misses his mom a lot and doesn’t understand why things had to change.  Charlie wants his old house, his old school, his old friends, and his mom back the way things used to be.  While he’s thinking about these things in the backyard, he hears a truck pull into the driveway.

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Chuck didn’t want to have to move.  He didn’t want to have to change jobs.  He didn’t want his family to go through all it has.  But life is hard and bad things happen.  Chuck pulls into the driveway after a long day.  This new job has a steep learning curve.  This new house has some problems that need fixing.  And his son Charlie doesn’t seem to be adjusting well to all the changes.  He knows he’ll have to make dinner, clean the kitchen, take out the trash, and get Charlie bathed and ready for bed when he goes inside… so he just sits in the silence of his running truck for a few minutes.

Chuck wonders how his life ever got this way.  Could things have gone differently?  Is Charlie ever going to settle into this new life of theirs?  Should he have to?  Will there ever be any rest from all the work and worry?  Chuck sits staring out the windshield and feels his heart sink with hopelessness.

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God sits in the truck with Chuck.  Chuck doesn’t know it, of course, but God understands how hard it’s been for him to make these hard decisions and to take care of his son despite all that life has thrown at him.  And God knows that a better position is coming for Chuck at work, and that Charlie will soon make a good friend, and that Chuck’s wife is trying to make things work on her end, also.  Chuck doesn’t understand, but God provides for our physical and emotional needs.

God stands in the backyard with Charlie.  He’s just a boy and can’t comprehend all that went into the decisions that have brought his little life to where it is now, but one day he’ll tell his dad how thankful he is that he was loved and cared for.  God knows all this, even though Charlie feels lonely and confused.  Instead, God urges Chip out of his hiding spot to come rub up against Charlie’s leg and encourage him.  Charlie doesn’t understand, but God provides comfort in our sorrows.

God was kneeling in the leaves.  Chip had been hiding from Charlie, but inside he knows that the people he lives with take good care of him.  Hearing the truck pull up made him excited to get a treat or to have his food bowl refilled.  Chip doesn’t understand, but God provides people who love us and take care of us.

God was standing in the garden.  Chirp began looking for a meal and a new place to sleep.  The sun was about to go down when he heard a sound.  It was the chirp of another cricket.  Sniffing the air, he was sure he could smell her beautiful perfume.  She wasn’t far away; just a hop or two in the right direction.  That day Chirp found a mate to care for and raise a family with.  Chirp doesn’t understand it, but God can bring good out of any disaster that may come upon us.

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows,” (Matthew 10:29-31). Whether we’re lost, scared, sad, or lonely, God is with us and He can provide for whatever we need.