Jewel # 237 (January 18, 2016)

“And they shall be Mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up MY JEWELS.”

(Malachi 3:17)

To my dear grandchildren,

Bufo Relatives

“Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth.”

(Ecclesiastes 12:1)

No clown ever looked funnier than this little toad, sitting upright with its four legs ready to jump, eyes bright and a big grin across its face as if saying “Hi there.  My name is Bufo Boreas.  Want to be friends?”

The bufos hatch from eggs in ponds beside the Los Angeles River in Southern California.  But after changing from a tadpole into a toad, they leave their birthplace, climb the bank and go in search of a new home.  A golf course or park area will do very nicely for a year or two, but eventually they will return to their original home to join others in producing millions of eggs that will soon hatch into tadpoles.

In these trips across land, many hazards await these toads.  Although large numbers are killed each year crossing busy roads or die on sun-baked parking lots, their numbers never seem to decrease.

Nearly 500 miles farther north in high meadows near Yosemite Park, an equally restless cousin to bufo boreas also leaves its home to seek adventure in life.  This one is bufo canorus, but because of a rugged lifestyle, it is not as cheerful as its relative.

To escape the killing cold of the high mountains, these little creatures hibernate from October until May or June, when they come out into the warm sunshine to sit and soak up the sun, while at the same time gaining strength and energy for the journey that is before them.

Soon, like those in the south, they start out to find a suitable pond for a summer home and to raise new batches of tadpoles.  But they face quite a trip ahead with many snowdrifts to be crossed, and that is not easy for toads that cannot let their bodies get too chilled or they will freeze to death.

However, their Creator has given them remarkable instincts.  Coming to a patch of snow too large to go around, they stand up on their hind feet to look it over, and then, with only occasional rests, they tiptoe on their four feet across the patch, keeping their bodies high and dry.  They are surprisingly sure-footed on those slippery surfaces.  After crossing several such areas, the sought-after pond will be found and provide a summer home.  What amazing toads these are!

The opening verse tells us to “remember” the Lord Jesus, and that means not only as Creator but also as the Saviour of sinners.  He invites us to live in His home in heaven when our lives here on earth are ended.  He has paid the full price for every sinner who comes to Him confessing that he is a sinner and accepting Him as his Saviour.  When this is done from the heart, heaven will be his eternal home.

Will heaven be your eternal home?

Love you all,

Grandpa      

            

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