Frog vs. Grill by Robin Densmore Fuson

 

Do you love your comfort zone? 

Our dog, Kenzi, needed to go outside. Without a fenced yard, we accompany her for business. Like most dogs, she enjoys sniffing around. Sometimes, we can tell she is on the scent of an animal. There are all sorts of creatures that come onto our property. Our house backs up to a wooded area where squirrels, rabbits, lizards, frogs, wild turkeys, and other great and small critters roam. The trees are full of birds of all colors and sizes. The area can be loud with songbirds, cicadas, crickets, grasshoppers, and katydids.

Kenzi went on a hunt, sniffing the ground and following a trail, which led her to our grill. It sits shrouded in a black cover on the patio. When she got close, the cover moved. She jumped.

So did I. “What is under there?”

I didn’t want to find out. “Come. Let’s go inside. Kenzi, come.”

Kenzi obeyed by taking a few steps in my direction.

She stopped. Looking back, the cover moved again.

I glanced around. No wind. “Come.” I commanded.

She understood my voice and trotted after me.

A few days later, my husband decided to grill burgers. After a while, he came in looking for me. “I want to show you something.”

I followed him to the grill with the cover off and the top open. He pointed underneath. “A frog scared me. I reached in to turn on the gas and the thing jumped. I jumped. It hopped up into the controls. I had to poke him and pull until he came out or we would’ve had barbeque frog. He’s on the ground on the other side.”

I crept over to see him. There he sat—all fat and happy. I took his picture. I’m sure he smiled. “Don’t you need to shoo him away so he doesn’t go back in? I think that’s what startled Kenzi the other day. We don’t want him getting comfortable and making his home there.”

Jimmy clapped. The frog didn’t move. Jimmy stomped at it. It didn’t move. Jimmy nudged it with his toe. The reptile took off, like a runner in the five-yard dash, right up the side of the house to the roof. Talk about leap-frogging.

The frog thought he found a good place to sleep, out of the sun. He didn’t know of the danger. If Jimmy didn’t know where the frog had squeezed himself into, Jimmy would’ve lit the fire. The frog would’ve slowly cooked to death.

Sometimes we are like the frog, in a comfortable place but there could be danger.

Danger of complacency. Danger of neglect. Danger of isolation.

We love our comfort zone. But the only way to grow is to step out of our comfort zone. That’s so difficult. In the zone, we are cozy. We’re surrounded by the familiar. It’s like a warm and fuzzy blanket on a cold day.

To learn and grow we need to fling the blanket off and step out into the unfamiliar. The Bible tells us to hang around with other believers. The Bible also says to be light and salt in the world. We can’t do that if we are cuddled away where it’s cozy.

The Bible says we are to trust Him. One of those ways is when we obey His prodding to do something new, go somewhere different, or meet other people. He might want you to start a new business, teach a class, Change jobs, or knock on someone’s door and share Jesus. He might want you to send cards and pray for people you might not be fond of. He might want you to write that book, sing a solo, or hold a Bible study in your home. He might want you to relocate to a place you don’t want to move.

I don’t know.

This is what I do know—He wants us to pray about what He wants us to do, then he will give us direction. Listen to His leading.

Jimmy pulled the frog out of harm’s way. Jimmy tried many times to get the amphibian to leave the area. After polite attempts, he nudged him with his foot. Then, finally, the frog took the hint and skedaddled away.

Is the Lord nudging you? Walking away from what is familiar to do something extraordinary is frightening but rewarding. Step out. Follow the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Don’t be like the frog thinking it nice and comfy when reality is, it’s harmful because you can’t grow and know Him more without trusting him and stepping out.

Get out of the grill and hop into a new adventure with the Lord.            

“How long, foolish ones, will you love ignorance? How long will you mockers enjoy mocking and you fools hate knowledge? If you respond to my warning, then I will pour out my spirit on you and teach you my words” (Proverbs 1:22-23 hcsb).