This is Catherine.
Catherine wants to sing like a tree frog.
Be like Catherine.
Pat and I just returned home from a wonderful trip where we attended great lectures, made new friends and escaped to the warmth of a beautiful beach paradise. We arrived in the dark after a full day of travel and as we flopped into bed, a cacophony of tree frogs erupted in song outside our villa. Their symphony included hundreds of players that only seemed to know 2 notes. These tiny creatures were loud, relentless and impossible to tune out.
It is always in the quiet places where my imagination ignites and prayers swell. As I drifted between prayers and a pining for sleep, I wondered what the tree frogs would be so determinedly singing about, and incase you are wondering too, I can tell you. I am confident that I am right, because you will never find a tree frog to correct me. The tree frogs were singing praises to God their creator. What else would they be singing about? They chirped about how God reigns and how much He loves them and how much He loves me. They proclaimed of His power and beauty and holiness. They couldn’t stop. Singing was their entire motivation from sunset til sunrise. Their praises inspired me and soothed me to sleep.
“This is my Father’s world,
And to my listening ears
All nature sings, and round me rings
The music of the spheres.
This is my Father’s world:
I rest me in the thought
Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas;
His hand the wonders wrought.
This is my Father’s world,
The birds their carols raise,
The morning light, the lily white,
Declare their maker’s praise.
This is my Father’s world:
He shines in all that’s fair;
In the rustling grass I hear him pass;
He speaks to me everywhere.” Maltbie D. Babcock 1915
“The heavens are yours, and the earth is yours;
Everything in the world is yours—you created it all. “ Psalm 89:11 (NLT)
I want to be like the tree frog. You should too. I want to be so aware of God’s supremacy and holiness and love for me that I sing about it all the time out of the overflow of my heart and not just out of obedience.
I met a woman last week who is singing of God’s glory much better than my crooning amphibian friends. Mary works the night shift at Memphis International airport. I met her at 5:30 am during the last half hour of her shift. It was still dark outside and the weather was nasty. Mary was smiling and humming. As we visited she told me that her purpose in life was to live up to her name. I didn’t remember what Mary meant and then she told me the sweetest story. She reminded me of what Mary actually means. “Mary” means “bitterness” and she had been bitter most of her life. She listed some of her heartaches, betrayals and failures. Her story was distressing, but then Mary told me that her middle name is “Joyce” In her adult years, she began going by the name “Mary Joyce”, and one random day, in a state of exhaustion, when asked what her name was, she stumbled over her words. She answered, “May” “RyJoyce”. Her stumble changed her whole outlook. She realized that her name was her call to action. She has lived everyday since with the mission to praise the Lord in everything…to let go of bitterness and rejoice. She declared to me, no matter what the day holds, I know who I am and I know who my God is. “I May Rejoice!”
I may too. I must too. You and I are going to spend eternity praising our God and savior. Let’s get really good at it. Let go of the bitterness and rejoice. Sing with the relentless abandon of a tree frog. Our god is good….ALWAYS!
“As the sun is full of light, the ocean full of water,
Heaven full of glory, so may my heart be full of thee.” (Excerpt from The Valley of Vision/ Spiritus Sanctus)
Oh precious Savior, may my heart be as full of Jesus as the ocean is full of water. May the overflow of my love for you brim over into relentless songs of praise. Glory be to your name. Amen.