Persistent Audacity

One of my kids won this hippo at a pizza shop. It was gifted to me because hippos are the bomb! I think we have four of these little beauties: a cow, an owl, a frog and my hippo. The glorious thing about all four of them is that they squeak both when you push on them and when you let go. They are a constant joy in other words!

Our new dog heard the squeak of the frog and immediately knew that it was meant for her. Wrongly so! But she would not give up. Wherever my son Elijah and his frog went, Birdie followed. Wherever Elijah hid the frog, Birdie tried to get at it. And when she could not, she sat and waited. And waited. And waited. And waited. Until, finally, Elijah had compassion on her and gave her the now holey, non-squeaking, half-existential frog. She is devoted to it, in spite of the fact that she destroys it more each day. All it takes is one squeak to set her running and to make her eyes wild.

It’s funny, but Birdie’s passion for the squeaky toy inspires me. Her persistence speaks to me. It’s audacious and relentless. Perhaps it’s a view of how our prayer life could be?

“Then Jesus said to them, ‘Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, “Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.” And suppose the one inside answers, “Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.” I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.'”