Read an Excerpt
A Bug Collection
Four Stories From the Garden
By Max Lucado Thomas Nelson
Copyright © 2005 Max Lucado
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4185-7598-4
CHAPTER 1
Hermie was a common caterpillar.
Now, as a rule, caterpillars aren't very exciting. But Hermie was even more ordinary than most.
He didn't have stripes, and he didn't have spots. He had nothing but smooth green skin and a bunch of feet.
He ate common leaves and squirmed through common grass.
Hermie was just a common caterpillar.
But Hermie did one thing that wasn't common. He talked to God. Hermie and his friend Wormie would ask God, "Why did You make us so common? Other caterpillars have stripes. Some have spots."
God would answer, "I love you, Hermie and Wormie. But I'm not finished with you yet. I'm giving you a heart like Mine."
So they felt better ... until they met Antonio Ant carrying a big pine cone.
Antonio Ant was smaller than either of them, but on his shoulder was a big pine cone. Hermie and Wormie were amazed at Antonio's strength.
"Wow!" Wormie said. "How do you carry such a heavy load?"
"God made me strong," replied Antonio.
Hermie and Wormie felt sad. They asked God, "Why can't we be strong like the ant?"
God's answer was kind. "I love you just the way you are. But I'm not finished with you yet."
So they felt better ... until one rainy day when they saw Schneider Snail.
"You need a house like I have," said Schneider.
"That's your house?" Wormie asked.
"It sure is. Watch." And with that ... Schneider pulled his head into his shell. "See, it's nice and dry in here."
Hermie and Wormie wondered why God hadn't given them a cozy house like the snail's.
God reminded them, "Be patient, Hermie and Wormie. I'm not finished with you yet."
That made Hermie and Wormie feel much better ... until they saw Lucy Ladybug.
"You have such pretty spots!" Hermie exclaimed.
"Beautiful!" Wormie agreed.
"You are very kind," Lucy replied softly. "But I had nothing to do with it. This is the way God made me."
Hermie and Wormie wanted to be grateful for the gift God had given the ladybug, but it was hard. Both of them felt so ... common.
That night, underneath the bright stars, Hermie prayed. "We're sorry, God. We know you love us, but we don't understand why You made us so ..."
"Common?" God finished the sentence.
"Yes, common," both caterpillars said at the same time.
"Remember," God told them. "I love you just the way you are, but I'm not finished with you yet. I'm giving you a heart like Mine."
(Continues...)
Excerpted from A Bug Collection by Max Lucado. Copyright © 2005 Max Lucado. Excerpted by permission of Thomas Nelson.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
