Chapter 12

   The rattlesnake treated us to an enthralling and very percussion heavy dance number.  Pastor Basil applauded with enthusiasm “Well done!”    
     Mrs. Snapper was less excited. “Well, I suppose we’ll have to bring back the little drummer boy this year” she sighed.
     Then came Mr. Skink’s tropical house geckos, auditioning for the role of angelic host.  They had been hunkering down in a heated tank right up until their audition time.  Their entrance, scampering up to the front in a line was endearing and maybe even compelling, but after that they succumbed to a bout of mass stage fright and just stood there staring at us. 
     “Be careful” warned Mr. Skink “they’re nervous critters and if anything-” CRASH
Something or rather a bunch of somethings toppled over in the sacristy, the little room behind the altar where Pastor Basil keeps the communion supplies, banners, and other odds and ends. 
     “Tarnation-”
     “What on earth!”
     “Heavens to Betsy!”
     Everyone had something to say about the noise, but no one was able to do anything to keep the geckos from scattering all over the sanctuary.  We ended up spending the next half hour searching the sanctuary's corners, crawling under pews, and peering beneath the loose edges of the carpet to finally find and herd all the geckos back into their tank.
     “Well, they are definitely NOT angel material” Mrs. Snapper shook a disapproving finger at the geckos.
     “No,” I agreed, thinking quickly “But what about sheep?”
     “They certainly know how to go astray,” Pastor Basil nodded “Sounds like an excellent role to me.”
     Everyone was pleased with my idea.  Clearly I had a good handle on this whole assistant director thing.  But amid the congratulations, I was the only one who noticed that Jealous Plant was nowhere to be seen and had been missing since before the great gecko getaway.  
To Be Continued
 
Matthew 18:12-14
“If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn’t wander away! In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father’s will that even one of these little ones should perish.    
 
The geckos who started off as possible angels ended up being recognized as sheep.  In a crisis they scattered and had to be found.  All of us have sheep-like tendencies.  When have you panicked in a crisis?  When has fear caused you to do the opposite of what was needed?  Who is someone who helped get you back on track when you were frightened and struggling?
 

A reading of Chapter 12 by Amelia Corbett