Hold On

Cocooned. Swaying. A soft breeze. Curled up in a hammock. Back. Forth. Back. Forth. Ever so gently. Feeling safe. Trusting. 

📸by  MissKaiser on pixabay

My one and only experience in a hammock. Sure it was a bit difficult at first to just get in the thing. Hammocks have a way of swinging away from where you are just trying to sit down. but once you’re in, well maybe you’re not done yet, cause you have to get situated so you don’t get spit out.

We all see silly images of hammock hang-ups.  Crashing down. Twisting in several loops before the person is tossed out. One has to be determined to get in and stay awhile.

One also has to trust. Trust that one doesn’t get injured falling out. Trust that the connections are secure. Trust that all is well.

This reminds me of the Irish prayer about being held in God’s hand:

“May the road rise up to meet you                 

May the wind be always at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face;

the rains fall soft upon your fields 

and until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of His hand.”

Being cocooned in a hammock is like trusting God to hold you. Will He drop you? Will He let the connections sever and break? Or will you trust that He will hold you and keep you and save you from turmoil. Or perhaps, already being involved in turmoil, will He simply comfort you to give you hope, time to strengthen, time to feel a moment of safety? Do you trust in Him?

Although I had to leave the comfort of the hammock, I never lost the feeling of that moment of being held, feeling safety and comfort. Feeling God holding me in the palm of His hand.       Theresa M

📸by spicetree687 on pixabay

The Fable of Dizzy Doodle

Once upon a time, in a large country field, next to a worn down old house, there lived a family of gray doodlebugs. Mama, Papa, Dizzy, Doozie, and Dottie Doodle. The Doodles only needed a tiny space for their daily activities. 

📸 by Monsterkoi on pixabay

Mama and Papa loved their baby doodles. The young ones grew and went their separate ways to find their own homes. But the youngest, Dizzy Doodle went even further away. Somehow he landed in a bale of hay.

📸 by jufal on pixabay

📸 by Franco Folini, creative commons

The bale of hay went for a ride to a huge red barn. In the red barn Dizzy Doodle dropped down from the bale of hay and landed on a big brown boot. He was scared so he curled up in a ball. Then he felt himself rising in the air, between two long cylinders. He was rolled down in the palm of a human hand.

“Ah, how cute,” said the human. “A little doodlebug.” A piece of straw was waved into Dizzy’s face. “Here you go little fellow,” said the human. 

Slowly Dizzy Doodle undid his curl and sniffed the hay piece. Hmmph! It was not quite what he wanted. Sensing this, the human said, "I’ll put you somewhere safe.”

The human carried Dizzy to a small garden spot just outside the red barn. Human carefully lowered his hand and laid Dizzy Doodle down upon the earth. 

📸 by Franco Folini, creative commons

 Dizzy pattered around on his many feet and said, “I guess this is as good a place as any to call my new home.” He crawled around the ground where there was plenty of mulch to feed on. His life in the garden turned out to be just as good as his life growing up with his Doodle family in the field.

       

Moral of the Story: 

Make the most of what life hands you. Accept where you're at then move on.

                              .

Theresa M.

Fun Fact: I grew up in Texas where there were lots of doodlebugs. They are so adorable. If you see one, please be gentle. They are not harmful in any way to humans or the environment. 

Another Fun Fact: Doodlebugs are not insects. They are related to the crustacean family! Scientific name is Armadillidium Vulgare. (They do look like teeny tiny armadillo don’t they?). They feed on dead vegetation. 

Another creature that is also called a doodlebug is the Ant Lion which is an insect (Myrmeleon), but they do not curl up in balls and do not look like my doodlebugs. 

To learn more:

https://www.reconnectwithnature.org/news-events/the-buzz/roly-poly-pill-bugs

https://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/41825/20200704/pill-bugs-the-not-overtly-unpleasant-invasive