Frog in my Throat

Photo by Andrzej Pobiedziński from stock.xchng

We were all getting ready this morning, having mapped out our plans for the day.  After a round of shopping, we were going to head to McDonald’s for lunch and utilize their play area to escape this brutal heat we’ve been enduring.While I was donning my makeup, my youngest stood next to me.  She informed me that she had a frog in her throat.

“If you have a frog in your throat, do you kiss it to turn it into a prince?” I teased.

Raising one eyebrow, she enlightened me.  “I can’t kiss the frog in my throat!  How am I going to get my lips down my mouth?”

Silly me…I should have known.

But she wasn’t done, “Mom, I’m being serious here!  My throat kinda hurts.”

Okay, now I was serious.  “Well, I guess we should postpone our plans so you can get some rest.”

“No!” she interjected.  “Rule number one, when you have a frog in your throat you need chicken nuggets…and fries.  Rule number two, you can still play.”

Now I really was enlightened.

If McDonald’s Playland wasn’t at stake, my little drama queen would have taken advantage of this situation.  She would have requested a special place be arranged for her on the couch, with her favorite stuffed animal and movie to aid in her recovery.

Like my little one, I find that I do this too often.  I know what is right, but I can come up with 18 different reasons why wrong can equal right.  We rationalize, use other people actions or opinions to validate, and then plunge forth into wrongness.

But we need to remember that rules are there for a reason, not so that we can reason them away when it is convenient, or make up new ones when the real rules cramp our style. As I always tell my kids, rules keep us safe.  God’s rules are no different. When we rely on God and follow His rules instead of our own, we end up being blessed.  And whatever minute bit of satisfaction we thought we were gong to get out of breaking the rules seems insignificant in comparison to what He would give us.

There’s a popular ministry that uses the acronym FROG (Fully Relying On God).  When you think about it that way, it was a good thing she had a frog in her throat.

If you listen to these commands of the LORD your God that I am giving you today, and if you carefully obey them, the LORD will make you the head and not the tail, and you will always be on top and never at the bottom. (Deu 28:13 NLT)