Too Many Alligators

"Dad," Elliot asked from the back seat of our mini van.  "Are their poisonous frogs in other countries where there is war... like Asia?"

My five year old son has been fixated on frogs lately and some of the question he asks about them are pretty random.

"I guess so," I said.  Certainly there is some country that is dealing with war that also has at least one species of poisonous frog in it.  That certainly would be my guess for Jeopardy.

There was silence for a little while, as Elliot gathered his thoughts together.  Soon he began again. 

"I wish I could kill all of the alligators and crocodiles," he said forcefully.

"Why?"  My wife, Elaine, asked him.

"Because they eat frogs!"

"But if they didn't eat frogs, there would probably too many of them.  Anyway, there aren't any alligators in Indiana."

Elliot thought a bit more.  "Well, I wish I could invite all of the frogs to Indiana then and I would teach them about Jesus and how to stay away from alligators and crocodiles."

My son is young and can be forgiven if he doesn't understand that there is purpose for all of the things that God has created -- large and small, ferocious and timid, alike.  While it is tempting to believe that more frogs and fewer alligators could only be beneficial to everyone involved, odds are that it would upset a balance that currently exists.  Both are important.

This is the way in creation.  It is also the plan for our lives.  For, God gives us both frogs and alligators -- things that we want and circumstances that we don't -- in order that we can grow.  It is all to easy to rail against the things we don't like, desiring only that which we believe would make us happiest.

I cannot imagine a world with only frogs (even if my son can), for it would be a pretty dreary place.

Fortunately, I don't need to worry.  God has everything in hand and will continue to give me both frogs and alligators for the foreseeable future.

I am glad -- not because I enjoy the hard times, but because it tells me that God cares enough to give me what I need.  That is a blessing indeed.