Toad's Can't Talk ... Can They?

As I meandered down a dirt road sulking about my uselessness, I saw a huge toad sitting beside a small pond. It wasn't the first toad I'd seen; I glanced at it and kept walking.

That's when it happened. A deep, small voice called out, "Come back here." I turned around. The command seemed to be coming from the toad. But toad's can't talk ... can they? I must be more depressed than I thought!

The small base voice said, "Come closer!" The toad's lips were moving. A talking toad? I'm losing it!

Curiosity got the best of me and I stepped closer to the ugly creature. "What do you want?" I asked. "I'll tell you when I'm good and ready," the toad quipped.

"Whatever you have to say better be good," I retorted. "And you can change your snotty attitude or I'll stomp you into the ground."

"Take it easy big fella," the toad said. "It's too hot to get all worked up."

"You're right. But I don't like toads and you're at the top of my list. Speak up. What's on your pea-sized mind?"

"Do you believe God created me?" the toad asked. "Sure," I said. "But only God knows why. You're ugly as sin."

The toad ignored my insult. "Did God create you?" "Absolutely! I'm created in His image."

"Good for you," the toad continued. "One more question: Why did God create me?" The toad's penetrating stare unnerved me. This ugly little creature was dead serious.

"To tell you the truth, I don't know why God created you. And frankly, at this moment, I don't give a damn." I turned to walk off.

"God created me," the toad said, "to live out my short life in the confines of this pond, to reproduce, and to eat bugs. Flies are fat, juicy, and tasty this time of year."

"So, you are an amphibian fly-eater?"

"Something like that, but that's not all. God also created me to make you look good."

"Really? How's that?"

"Pick me up," commanded the toad. "Go ahead sissy. You won't get warts." I should have stomped the arrogant toad, but I picked it up.

"Take a good look at me. I was created to do what I do and that's it. But I can't do a fraction of what you do. I'm a brownish-green, bumpy, creature with powerful legs -- which some of your fellow humans find tasty -- a long, sticky tongue, a loud croak, and an veracious appetite for bugs. That's all I'll ever be. But not you. There are few limits to what you can be. God made you the crown of his creation. So, when you feel insignificant, get down on yourself, or feel worthless, think about me."

As I put the toad down and watched him hop into the cool waters of the little pond, I remembered David's words from Psalm 8 -- "What is man that You are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him? You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings (angels) and crowned him with glory and honor."

But toads can't talk ... can they?