Once upon a time there were four frogs. They went for a little hop around town. There was a big hole in front of them, but, unfortunately, they didn’t see it until it was too late. All four of the frogs fell into the hole! Immediately after fallin into the hole, the frogs started jumping trying to get out. After a while, two of the frogs got tired and gave up. The other two frogs continued to jump, trying to get out of the hole. After many hours, the third frog also gave up. Only one frog continued to try and jump out of the hole. The other frogs cheered him on for a while, but when jumping out of the hole seemed impossible, they started to call him names. Hours passed and the little frog continued jumping, trying to get out of the hole. The other frogs continued to ridicule him, calling him all kinds of bad names, and saying, “Just give up!  It’s not going to happen!  You are wasting your time.” But the little frog continued to jump. And as he continued to jump, his little legs got stronger and stronger. His jumps became higher and higher, until one day he jumped right out of that hole. Oh, it was something to behold! Well, when he got out of the hole of course there were other frogs up top, waiting to find out how he got out of such a deep hole. The other frogs were bombarding him with questions, but the little frog never said a word. The little frog began to leave.  The other frogs went calling after him, but he did not turn around. They soon discovered that the frog was deaf. He never heard a word that they were saying and neither did he hear the other frogs ridiculing him and telling him that it was impossible for him to jump out of the hole. His deafness became his strength; it was the reason he got out of the hole. 

This story of the frog was adapted from a folk tale and shared with me by a former co-worker when I worked at the Center for the Visually Impaired. Occasionally, I go back and read this story to gather encouragement, strength and inspiration. Lately there has been so much negative and stressful stuff going on that I pulled it out of my files yet again. But this time I wanted to share with you along with a couple of valuable lessons I have learned.

Lesson in Perseverance

The frog taught me about pushing through and persevering. When he realized his predicament, he never stopped trying to improve his situation and get out of it. He kept jumping and jumping. Right now, a lot of us, including myself are dealing with COVID-19 fatigue. This virus has got us down and singing the blues in major ways.  But we have got to keep wearing our mask, washing our hands, practicing social distancing and push on.

Additionally, I am dealing with political exhaustion. I will be voting yet again in January for the Georgia U.S. Senate seat. The number of phone calls, text messages, TV ads, and mailbox flyers has got my head spinning. I understand the importance of this runoff election and how critical it is but boy am I tired! Then on top of that the political bickering and fighting over the recent presidential election results has been a bit too much for me personally

Lesson in Doing What You Do

The frog did what he always did. Frogs jump and hop around. That is what God created and designed them to do. The difference is that he did more of it and didn’t stop. For me I realize that to succeed in my goals, I need to continue to do what I do. God has given me talents and skills that are specific to me.  I don’t need to sit around thinking and pondering about it.  I don’t need to look at other people. Just do what I need to do and things will happen for me. Just like the frog, when he kept jumping his legs got stronger making it easier and better for him to ultimately get out of that hole.

Lesson in Turning Off the Noise and Distractions

The frog didn’t pay attention to the negativity around him. He was laser focus on his goal which was to get out of that hole. Even when he got out, he stayed fixated and didn’t even stop to conversate about it with other frogs but kept moving on. He didn’t get distracted and caught up in the chatter and noise. There is so much around to sidetrack me from my purpose. It can be easy to get off track and lose sight of the end game. But I have to remind myself don’t get caught up in the noise, drama, craziness and disruptions in the world.

So, after reading about the frog. what powerful lessons did you learn? Or did this story just reinforce what you already knew that you needed to do? How can a little frog help you to have a better life?