The Little Scarecrow

(The following is a children's story that I wrote for a creative project.)

Once upon a time there was a little scarecrow.
He was a good little scarecrow who always did what he was told.
He lived on a little farm with a big red barn and lots of green green grass.
On the farm their lived a wise old horse, a big fat pig and a mean grumpy duck.
The Farmer was a very good farmer.
He made the little scarecrow with his own hands.
He loved the little scarecrow so much that He called the scarecrow his son.
When the little scarecrow was good the Farmer would smile down at him and pat him on the head.
"Good job my son." The Farmer would say.
And the little scarecrow would feel warm and happy inside his heart!

One day the little scarecrow was out working in the field. He was doing the job that the Farmer asked him to do. But the sun was hot and the little scarecrow felt tired.
"I don't want to work anymore." said the little scarecrow to himself "I don't want to always be good."
The grumpy duck was walking by and heard the little scarecrow.
"Well little scarecrow," said the duck "You don't have to work anymore!"
"Oh but I do," said the little scarecrow " my father the farmer told me to do this."
The grumpy duck laughed "See me, I don't work. I just swim in the pond all day long! I do what I want, I say what I want and I never say sorry!" he said.
"Well that doesn't sound very nice." said the scarecrow.
"Yes but it's fun!" said the duck. "You should try." then he waddled away.

The little scarecrow thought "Hmm... Do what I want say what I want and never say sorry...that sounds kinda fun." He said to himself. "I will try to do this, just for a day or two!"

The next morning he made a big mess.
He didn't do the work that his Father the farmer asked him to do.
 He was mean to his friend the big fat pig.

The wise old horse saw that the little scarecrow was being very bad.
"Little Scarecrow," he said "Why are you being so very bad?"
"I am tired of working, I am tired of being good." said the little Scarecrow
"I want to do what I want, say what I want and never say sorry."
"But Little Scarecrow" said the horse "What about your Father the Farmer? He will be so sad that you are being so bad."
The Little Scarecrow felt very sad inside his heart. "You are right!" he said.
"What should I do?" The Little Scarecrow asked the wise old horse.
"Go to your Father" he said "ask Him to forgive you."
The little scarecrow was afraid "What if He doesn't love me  anymore?"
The wise old horse smiled "The Farmer will always love you Little Scarecrow."
And so the little Scarecrow went and stood before his Father.
"Hello my son!" The Farmer said "What can I do for you my child?"
"I have been very bad today. I made a mess, I didn't do my work and I was mean to my friend the big fat pig." said the Little Scarecrow. A big tear ran down his cheek.
"I know my son," said the Farmer. "I saw you do all those things today. I am always watching you."
"I am so sorry Father." said the Little Scarecrow.
The Farmer looked at the Little Scarecrow and His eyes were full of love.
"I forgive you my son. I love you very much." The Farmer scooped the little Scarecrow up in His hand.
"Now you must go and clean up your mess, do your work and say you are sorry to the big fat pig."
 The Little Scarecrow obeyed.
It was hard to clean up his mess.
It was hard to do his work.
It was hard to say sorry.
But the Little Scarecrow learned something very important that day.
When you do bad things and hurt your friends you need say sorry. When you make a mess you need to clean it up.
But most importantly he learned the Father will always forgive you and He will always love you.
No matter what.

The End

 

 

 

Note To Parents:
The story of the Little Scarecrow is inspired by the Law given to Moses on Mount Sinai. It is difficult for many Christians adult to be able to read through the books of Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy because understanding the law seems to be an insurmountable task. So how can we expect our children to understand it? The law is filled with principles that are very much relevant to us today in the 21st century. This book serves the purpose of taking the law and making it a fun story that is easy for children of all ages to understand.

Scriptures: Exodus 21:12-36

 

 

 

A Lamentation of a Broken Man

(The following is not from the Bible, it is a poetic piece taken from the story of Job in the Bible. A lamentation in its nature begins very negatively and then works its way through to end positively...so keep reading! Enjoy!)

My heart is torn, shredded. With each new visitor the pain only builds. Each word is a blow to my throat, searing pain, gasping for air. I fall to my face. I cannot bare another, yet they keep coming at me.

I have lost it all. Nothing I care for remains. All that I have has vanished.

I feel so empty, as if my very soul has been torn from my body.  There is nothing left but an empty shell.

Why would this happen? I never did anything to deserve this!

The shallow grave that I have been buried in leaves me just enough alive to hear, to even see but unable to move or speak.

"Healing will come" they say. How would you know?
When has this happened to you? Please do tell!

If I shouted at the top of my lunges they wouldn't hear me, yet I hear them and they talk on about "the promises" and "the plan"!

You foolish men sitting in your lofty thrones looking down at me, mocking my pain and condemning my choices.

"You must have done something to bring this upon you!" they insist. Yet they look at my life and cannot find a reason.

 I am uncertain of what great ruler has given you the right to damn the innocent. You mock the wise and call them fools. You are the fool for thinking yourself greater than your brother.

I look to the Lord in my trouble. He is mute and offers no explanation for my pain.

I cower in darkness, licking my wounds and begging for death. What more do I have to live for? What purpose could this empty life serve?

The world is a harsh place, sparing me nothing but ones who only grieve me more.

No words can describe my emotions, no man can claim to understand. There is no life in me worth living.

The point that I have reached only death could be considered worse but even still at least I would have relief. My skin pains me for simply being in it.

There is no comfort left. No emotional comfort. No physical comfort. Nothing but pain remains. It is not the dull pain that you can simply live with; it burns deep in the layers of my being causing nothing but anguish all day long.

If only I could go back and strangle my own life away while still in the womb. For it would be better to have never lived than face this great sorrow.

"You did this. You suffer for it was your own doing!" he says. He rambles on telling me off all my sins.

Your youth deceives you. You think yourself wise yet you have never lived the days to gain the wisdom!

The darkness overwhelms me. I ask "Why?" again I question Your divinity.

Out of my sorrow You break through, like lightning in the night. You strike like a serpent. Hasty, cutting deep.

I am silenced by Your words. How great is Your wisdom, Oh Creator!I know nothing, I am but an infant, like a ant in comparison to Your greatness.

Who can measure up to You?

Who dare interrogate You?
"I demand a reason!" how dare I ever say those words to You, Oh Master.
I bow powerless at Your feet, begging for forgiveness. Strike me down for my doubt, I do not deserve to be in Your presence.
The demons that once haunted my mind recoil in fear. Who dare stand against the Maker of all that was made?

You exist outside existence itself. You rule over all and nothing rules over You.How great are you, Oh Maker. How great are you, Oh Destroyer.You give what You see fit and You take what You find necessary. Not one of Your actions is faulty. Not one of Your words untrue.Magnificent, abundant and relentless is Your love and power.

Hallelujah, praise God.

The Thoughts of a Dejected King

(The following in not directly from the Bible but is a fictional artistic piece based on the life of King David during 2 Samuel 12 and is also inspired by the 51st Psalm. Enjoy!)

 

I lay with my face against the cold stone floor. An over whelming feeling of desperation and guilt seemed to be eating away at my soul. The sounds of weeping flowed from the room down the hall. My heart pains to hear my dear Bathsheba wailing; she was suffering so much. This was all my fault. Why am I so foolish to let in to my own desire? Was it worth the pain that I caused? I betrayed my wives, my children but most importantly I betrayed my God. How could I turn on them like that? I knew in my heart that what I was doing wrong yet I still did it.

I lay here shivering in the cold, my body is weak and I lack the strength to even leave this place on the floor. I used to be a strong king, bold and courageous. I led armies to battle, slain giants and escaped the fiercest of enemies. But now one little baby had crushed that king. I had sinned. I took that which was not mine and I murdered an innocent man. I am no better than the king who went before me. All I thought of was my own desires, my sinful, selfish desires. And now my son lay in his bed growing weaker, my beloved Bathsheba cries day and night for our baby. So how could I eat, how could I move. I was nothing. The words of Nathan rang still in my ears.

"You are the man."

I deserved to die, to suffer a long painful death for all the sins that I committed. God was gracious to me, but still I suffered, to watch your child slowly slip away, there is no greater pain. How could Bathsheba ever love me after this? She had done nothing, she was only obeying the orders of her king. I had abused my power. How foolish of me! It was not by my own superiority that I had received this position, only by God that I was now King over all Israel. But yet like a fool I chose to use my God given power to bring about what I knew was wrong in His eyes. Was it worth it? Those moments of pleasure, were they worth all this? I destroyed a marriage, murdered a man, betrayed my family, angered my God and brought about the death of an innocent baby.

 Was it worth it?

 No.

I thought of the child. What joy had filled my heart at his birth! A son! A baby! I remember the look of joy on Bathsheba's face! Our little prince. He was beautiful, he had eyes as bright as his mothers and light hair like mine. I remember how people fawned over him. But always  a cloud loomed over the baby, I knew that he would die. God had said that because of my sin, my abuse, my child this precious baby would die! I remembered how worried Bathsheba looked when she told me he had stopped eating and that his body grew hot. As his condition worsened I knew what was happening, the time had come. So I came in here and lay down. So I am still here thinking and speaking to God. For seven days I lay in the cold darkness.

Lord I know I was wrong. I know I have done what is evil in your eyes. I cannot ask you to simply forgive me. But I am begging you, as a father I cannot bear this! Please Lord, see my heart, hear my prayer. Let the child live, not for my sake but for Bathsheba! Lord if you have any more compassion in your heart for this king, give life back to my child. I lie here waiting and my heart is heavy and my body grows weak. I will not move or eat till I hear news of the child.

My servants watch over me, begging me" Master please eat something." They pulled on me to sit me up but my body falls back to the ground. "Please my lord you must eat!"
"I can't" my voice is weak. Every day they simply stand there waiting to see their king arise. They do not speak but I know what they are thinking. They think I am a coward for mourning so greatly for just one child, they find me a fool because of what I chose to do. I cannot ask them to stay loyal to me because I am not the King my people need nor the man they deserve.

A servant enters the room and whispers to the others. They speak so quietly and I know that there is something wrong. I make out only one word "dead".

My heart stops, for a moment I cannot breath. I hear a shriek from across the hall. Bathsheba knows. Our baby is dead!

Lord. I pray. Lord why have you not spared the child? The voice of Nathan comes back to me again " because you did this thing and had no compassion!" In my insanity I have forgotten. How could I ask the Lord to have compassion on me when I had not compassion on others? Where was my compassion when I asked a married woman to lie with me? Where was my compassion when I tried to deceived her husband? Where was my compassion when I murdered him in cold blood? How could I ask the Lord "Where is your compassion" when I had none? Lord forgive me for I am a fool!

Is sins pleasure worth its consequences? I have destroyed my life all for a moment of pleasure!

Anger grows in  my heart, bitterness and hatred for the one that caused all this pain. Why didn't he stop before so many were hurt? I wanted only to destroy this man, the man I hated with all my being. The thoughts grew into a monster inside me, there was no turning back now! Who was this man that I seethed with anger towards, who left my life in desolation and despair?

 I am the man!