I found a frog hopping down my hallway. Just a baby one, an adult frog would have been really odd. My upstairs hallway, away from outside doors and window access unless this baby amphibian has super jumping powers. It was covered in a fine webbing of fluff, like it was caught up in dryer lint. My dryer is on the floor below. I truly have no idea how this frog came to be in my home, how it managed to stay alive with two dogs and two cats who would certainly be intrigued by the movements of this little creature. How did I come to see it first? You might think I’m crazy but I am convinced it is a God thing. You would surely believe me if there were thousands hopping down my hallway, a plague among my family. Will you trust in the miracle of one?

I took the baby, wiped him off and set him free. Then puzzled over his purpose in my life. I wondered how long I would have stayed that odd creature, veiled to hide my identity, a veil which hindered my progress. Showing up at unexpected places, seeking asylum, wondering how I came to be with this crowd, how can I ever find my way home. Dependent on others to strip away the parts that hold me back, to deliver me safely to a resting place. Or cowering in corners, wondering if I could remain invisible forever. I certainly must have appeared so when I showed up in Janet’s clean living room, unshowered, unkempt, confused and so lost I couldn’t find my way back to God. I can’t claim any hopping, I barely had energy to brush my teeth. She gently helped me find my way back, she saw my soul underneath, she saw worth in my life, she saved this frog.

Maybe the lesson of this little creature in my home is to remember the awesome responsibility of the freed.  I must keep my eyes open for others who need a bit of help as well. To see beyond facades, dirty clothes and expensive wardrobes, all the ways we hide from each other and into the soul seeking a safe place to rest. Unexpected encounters may show me someone who just a needs a way home. God will bring these people into my view, will I see them? It won’t always be so clear as a frog in an upstairs hallway. It may take more than five minutes of wiping down and safely depositing in the yard. These are details I will trust to God. These are the miraculous everyday encounters I pray I keep seeing and have the courage to act on. Certainly this story would be quite different had I found a mouse.