Don't Despair, Help is on the Way

Reading a book to my son is very enjoyable. Lately, we have been reading books by Bill Peet. Every book has a moral. The latest book that we read was, "The Ant and the Elephant." A tiny ant is stranded and seeks help from various animals, all of whom are too busy to help. The following is how the story unfolds:

An old, cranky turtle walks by and responds to the ant's plea for help by saying, "I've had my swim for today, and if I went racing about helping everyone who was in trouble, I'd have no time left to relax." The turtle slowly walks away, lands in a predicament, and seeks the assistance of a hornbill roosting on her nest. The pompous bird responds, "I could . . . but I won't. This will teach you not to be so clumsy."

The bird drops her egg which she was roosting on, and endeavors to enlist the help of a giraffe who responds, "If I did such a thing how silly I would look. I'll have no one laughing at me." The haughty giraffe then gets tangled in vines. He spies a proud lion, who laughs at the giraffe and merrily goes on his way without bothering to help at all.

After the lion meanders away and plops down to rest, a boulder lands on his tail. He humbly asks a rhino for help. The arrogant rhino responds, "I would if you could think of some way to return the favor." Finally, the rhino haphazardly runs into a stump and is stuck.

"So the rhino, the lion, the giraffe, the hornbill, the turtle, and the ant were left in deep trouble. That would have been that if a jolly big somebody hadn't decided to stroll through the jungle that day." Can you guess what animal came next? A gargantuan elephant! He kindly helps everyone in need. After helping everyone and feeling rather proud of himself, the elephant begins to think that everyone has troubles but himself, and he will never need the help of anyone until ..... He gets stuck in a deep ravine. Surprisingly, it is the little ant and ninety-five thousand of his friends that come to the rescue!

I realize this is only a child's book, but it has a great moral: We need to take time to invest in others. To help simply means to "make it easier for (someone) to do something by offering one's services or financial or material aid." Hebrews 4:16 states, "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need."

Everywhere you look, someone is in need of something. Perhaps you can bake cookies to brighten someone's day or give a single mom an afternoon off. Maybe there is someone who is struggling financially and you can give a monetary blessing. Whatever the need, seek to help someone. "Assign yourself the purpose of making others happy and thereby give yourself a gift." (Let Go of Whatever Makes You Stop, John L. Mason, pg. 59)