It was one of those days. There was mountains of work to do with two young girls underfoot, or on the table, or in the pantry, or anything and everything to make extra problems for poor Mother. It was hog butchering day. The kitchen stove was jammed with buckets and pans heating the water needed to dunk the hog. The kitchen was steaming hot, and Daddy had been stern as he and the hired man left for the barn. “Under no circumstances are these girls to be allowed out in the barn. It’ll be too dangerous. Understand?”
Of course Mother understood. But Jennie, age four, had just spilled the honey on the table, and let the cat in who had tripped Mother as she hurried with a stack of dishes. Susan, age five and one-half pulled the meat grinder down with a crash, completely shattering Mother’s nerves. “That does it!” she exclaimed. “Go outside now and play with the kittens—or something!”
So outside they went. Being very curious, they thought they would just take a peek at the butchering. They met with a snappy order to go back to the house RIGHT NOW.
Jennie brushed a tear from her honey-streaked face and looked at her sister. “Nobody wants us! Let’s run away!”
“Yup, let’s!” Susan pouted. “They’ll be sorry when we’re gone.” After a moment’s thought she added, “C’mon, let’s fill the wagon with a whole buncha shoes, ‘cause we’re gonna walk a long, long ways!”
Soon a few curious crows observed two little girls pulling a wagon loaded with old shoes. They trudged along on their sad journey up hill and down, all the way to the busy, dangerous highway.
“Whoa, there!” Les Walton slammed on his brakes. “Say, aren’t you them little Fredericks girls?” Susan spoke up bravely. “Yes. We’re leaving home.”
“Oh—zatso? Whatfore ya got so many shoes?” And he threw his head back with a loud laugh. “Well now, little ladies, how about old Les givin’ ya a lift?”
To make a long story short, the little Fredericks girls were “lifted” home to parents who were so busy that they had only begun to miss them, but who were none the less very grateful for their safe return.
“All we like sheep have gone astray,” the Bible tells us in Isaiah 53, verse 6. We are just as weak and unprepared to meet life’s real dangers and our great enemy, Satan, as our little friends were. We, too, are often so foolish as to think that God does not care at all what happens to us. Doesn’t He care? Listen: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:1616For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16).
Our earthly parents may forget us for a while, but our God never will. If you will take His Son, Jesus Christ, as your very own, he will be a faithful, strong Shepherd and carry you safely home to heaven.
ML-09/21/1980