Whose are you?
Luke 15:1-7
The cold wind blew across his face, and Deer sneezed. Then he realized he was outside in the leaves, not inside, where he belonged when it was suppertime. Jumping up, he ran to the house, but the door was closed, and he couldn’t reach the handle to open it. Remembering the doggie-door, he ran to the back porch. He was relieved to find the door still worked, and after some struggling, he was inside, but there was no smell of supper cooking, and no sound of people anywhere.
The kitchen table was missing, and the chairs, too. There was no sofa in the living room, either. The hallway rug was gone, and the closets held no jackets or boots. What had happened? Where could they be? Where was Sally? He laboriously climbed the steep stairs, determined to reach her room, and figure out what was going on. He had never been away from Sally before. Not like this. Usually, if they were going to be separated, he was safe in his home, living in the toy chest in her room. He was beginning to wonder if the toy chest would still be there. Even though his people were missing, he knew this was the right house.
Deer wandered through the almost empty house, bewildered. Where were the beds, the tables, the people? His footsteps echoed down the hallway as he peered into each room that he passed.
The master bedroom was empty, except for the huge dresser. There was a tag stuck to it. He moved closer, to read it. “Our room”, it read. He was confused. It wasn’t a room, it was a dresser.
The next room he looked in was Sally’s. The toy chest he lived in was no longer there. Only her bed remained, with a tag stuck to it. “Sally’s room”, it read. The dust balls danced in the breeze from the open window, and Deer sneezed. He was scared, but wasn’t sure why.
Where had his people gone? Sally loved him, and would never leave him behind. But the house was empty, except for these bits of furniture, and Sally was nowhere to be found. Panicked, he ran to the boy’s room. It was totally empty, not even a stick of left-over furniture remaining.
On trembling legs, he walked back into sally’s room, and collapsed in a heap by her bed. Hopefully, they would find him when they came to take it. He really hoped they would – it had been a long time since he had been without a child to care for, and he was lonely just thinking about it.
****** ****** ****** ****** ****** ******
Sally stared at her mother. “Where is he, Mom? Don’t tell me I’ve outgrown him. I love my deer! He’s been with me since I got my tonsils out!”
Her mother sighed. “I don’t know, sweetie. Maybe he’s still at the old house. Maybe he’s in one of the boxes we’ve not gotten to yet. I promise we’ve not thrown him away. If he’s lost, it’s legitimate.”
“I bet Billy did something to him”, Sally muttered.
”He says he didn’t.” Mom said gently. “He knows how much Deer means to you – he wouldn’t lie about that.”
“When can we go back and look for him?”
“Not today, hon… it’s almost dark. Your father’s heading over there tomorrow, to pick up the last few pieces. I’ll see if he’ll let you go along.”
***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Deer woke suddenly. The room was dark, and felt larger than it normally did. The shadows seemed darker, as well… deep and full of malice for unsuspecting toys. He heard something rustle.
“Who – who’s there?” he asked. He hoped he didn’t sound as scared as he felt.
“Hoo…hoo… do you think you’re an owl?” a voice replied.
“No. I’m a deer. Who are you?”
“That’s a good question. A better question would be “What am I”?”
“Ok, then. WHAT are you?”
I am the great deer.
The great deer? What’s that?
The darkness sighed, a long exhalation of breath that held a world of sadness in it. “Has it come to that, then? Do mothers no longer tell their children of the Great Deer?”
“I’m sorry,” said Deer, “but I never knew my mother. All I’ve ever known is Sally, and she’s a human, so she probably wouldn’t know about you.”
The voice was deep, but kind. “You’re right. She wouldn’t know.”
“Please, Mr. Deer… please tell me – what’s a “great deer?”
It’s not “A” great deer, my young friend. It’s “THE” great deer. There is only ever one of us at a time. It is my job to escort the young deer into the next place, when the humans have tired of them. I come into the empty places, like this, right before dawn, and guide you to your next home.”
Deer was on his feet now, almost shouting at the darkness. “She’s not tired of me! I just lost her, that’s all!”
“And how did you lose her?” came the implacable reply. “I’ll bet that you were set down and forgotten about.”
Deer was silent, not wanting to admit the truth of the Great Deer’s words.
”Come with me, young deer… to the place where all old toys go.”
‘NO! She’s coming back for me!”
“Face facts, Deer. The house is empty. The people are gone. But you are still here, alone. Forgotten. Outgrown. All that is left is for you to come with me, away from the people who have abandoned you. You’ll see how beautiful the sunrise can be in the next place.”
NO! Deer screamed. Suddenly the darkness was replaced by the blazing light of the overhead bulb.
“There he is, Daddy!” and Sally ran across the floor to where her stuffed toy was standing, and hugged him to her. She could not feel his trembling, since to her he was only a toy, but he could feel the tears that were dripping off her chin as she held him tightly to her neck.
“I’m sorry, Deer,” she whispered to him in the back seat of the car. “I didn’t mean to forget you. And I’ve got your new home all fixed up for you already. I’m SO glad I found you.”
Deer was glad, too, as he snuggled against his child, that she had found him, and had not outgrown him.
When they arrived back at the new house, Sally took Deer right upstairs to her bedroom, and showed him his new home. He would no longer be relegated to the toy box like the other toys were. He had a shelf by her bed, with a little box on it lined with cotton. There was a label on the box, and she read it to him as she was placing him. “This is YOUR box, Deer. It has your name on it, and underneath your name, it says “I belong to Sally.”
Deer closed his eyes as Sally left the room. He was asleep almost before the light was off. The darkness didn’t scare him, here.
He belonged to Sally.
It said so on his new box:
“DEER
I belong to Sally Jones,
who loves me very much.”
Sometimes, we feel like Deer… lost and abandoned, maybe even unloved. Sometimes, in the darkness of our sleepless nights, it’s easy to believe that God has forgotten us, that we no longer belong and should just go along to the next place. If we’ve strayed from His path, it’s easy to convince ourselves that we can never go back.
But just as Sally was looking for Deer, and determined to get him back to her, God looks for us. And if we look closely, we might see a sign on our hearts, similar to the one on Deer’s new box, that says “I belong to God, who loves me very much.”
© 2002 mvy
Just about brought tears!