Have you ever studied a katydid up close?
I went to get the mail one day, and a katydid was sitting on top of our mailbox. At first, I thought it was a single, green leaf. It was odd, since there aren’t any trees that close to the mailbox.
Then I was eye-to-eye with it.
Whoa!
Leaves don’t have eyes.
They don’t have legs either.
Unless this is a Disney movie, it has to be an insect.
“Boys! Come here! You have to see this cool bug.”
David didn’t even need to see it up close to know what it was. “Oh, is it a grasshopper thing that looks like a leaf? It’s a katydid.” Thanks to the Wild Kratts, he knows infinitely more about the animal kingdom than I ever will.
The kids weren’t impressed, but I was. In 40 years, I’d never seen a katydid. I don’t often think insects are beautiful, but the katydid is.
Katydids are covered in all sorts of clever camouflage. They’re a bright, grass-green. Each of their wings are shaped like a small plant leaf, and covered in a detailed pattern that looks like the veins on a leaf. They have a brown “tail,” that looks like the end of a new leaf when it’s curled up, just before it unfurls. It’s antennas look like blades of grass.
Katydids spend their lives eating leaves and grass. They’re so well-disguised that they’re virtually undetectable to humans or predators when they’re in greenery.
God created the katydid to function perfectly in the specific environment in which he placed them.
Many days I feel inadequate for my environment. Am I getting it right as mom? Why do I have so little patience for their mischief? Why don’t I like playing Matchbox cars for hours? Am I scarring these kids for life? Why do I have to be a shy introvert who would rather get a root canal than make small talk at a party? Why couldn’t I have been born gregarious, bubbly and extroverted? Why don’t I have a beautiful singing voice? Instead, I can’t even find the right note.
I think even the most confident of us sometimes wonder if we have what it takes to get through the life we were given.
But if God cares so much for the katydid that He gave it all the tools it needs to flourish in the fields, how much more did He do that for us?
Psalm 139:14 tells us we are, “fearfully and wonderfully made.” 2 Peter 1:3 says that, “His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him.” Matthew 1:29-31 reminds us that God knows when even one sparrow falls from the tree. It says He knows the number of hairs on our head. “So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows.” And many katydids.
God created you and I perfectly for the life in which He’s placed us. He’s given us all the tools we need to succeed. All the small details of who we are, even the things we dislike or wish we could change, work together to help fulfill His plan for us.
I do get impatient with my boys, and I don’t really like playing their games. But if they need someone to snuggle them, read to them or make hot chocolate after a hard day at school, I have it covered. I don’t like to make small talk, but it turns out I’m a really good listener. I can’t carry a tune to save my life, but I remember all the words to the hymns I learned as a child. I sang them as I rocked my boys when they were babies. They didn’t care I was off-key.
When I feel inadequate for whatever life throws my way, I remember the katydid. God placed us both where He wants us. He equipped us both to thrive in that place. He did the same for you.