Why did the frog cross the road?

Last night as my son and I were driving home, dusk was quickly turning into night.

I saw some deer in the trees along the highway and held my breath as we went past. Luckily, they stayed put and out of our path. I worry about hitting deer on the roads.

We made the last turn in our drive home, slowing as we came through the darkness toward our house. We were just a couple of houses away when something jumped in front of our car.

It took me a moment to realize what it was—this tiny little object, bounding across the asphalt in a series of arcs, shining in the streetlamp on its way to the other side.

“That must be a frog,” I said. And my son agreed.

It felt magical to have that little brush with nature. The frog could have crossed the road at any time, but it just happened to leap when we were in that particular spot. If we had been anywhere else, we wouldn’t have witnessed this little being’s adventure as he moved through our neighborhood. There was a beauty and a thrill to seeing this little creature jumping across the road in the light of a streetlamp after night had arrived.

Encounters like that remind me that every minute is a gift. I like to think I live in the present, but it’s easy to get swept into the full, overscheduled river that is time. It’s amazing how much you can miss when you’re rushing to the orthodontist or scrambling to find something to make for dinner or buried in yet another task that doesn’t allow you simply to be you.

And sometimes there’s a tiny frog in your path, asking you to slow down, and reminding you that life is full of lovely little surprises. God sends us so many signs of his love throughout the day. This was yet another for me, a chance to consider the joy of seeing that tiny frog—or maybe it was a toad—leaping into and then out of our lives.

As we leap into a new day, I hope you discover unexpected signs of God’s presence in your life. And I hope you’ll experience a sign of his love that feels like it is just for you.

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