This past week I spent a week off to spend time with Audrey as daycare takes a two-week break, in between the school year and the summer program. We played outside, went on walks, went to the infant story hour at the new Marion Public Library, read books at home in the living room, and any other activity I created on the spot! The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown is a classic storybook. Released in 1942, the book shares about a bunny and his mother. The bunny is constantly trying to get away from the mom. He runs away, but then his mother says she will run after him. So the little bunny says, “If you run after me, I will become a fish and swim away from you.” To that the mother says, “I will become a fisherman, and I will fish for you.” Little bunny becomes a fish, a rock on a mountain, crocus in a hidden garden, a bird, a sailboat, a circus acrobat, and finally a little boy. Mother bunny consistently keeps coming after him, appearing as a fisherman, a mountain climber, a gardener, a tree, a cloud, a trapeze walker, and finally as a mother herself. She never tires from searching after little bunny. And of course the book touches at your heart strings when it ends with these words, “I will become a little boy and run into a house.” “If you become a little boy and run into a house, I will become your mother and catch you in my arms and hug you.” As I was reading this book to Audrey, I couldn’t help but see the connections to our faith. Isn’t God a lot like the mother bunny? God constantly searches after the lost one, the lost sheep, the lost son, etc. And God will keep searching for us when we’ve run away, appearing before us in whatever form we need. God never tires from seeking us out, and that brings me a lot of comfort. God is always there to catch you in God’s arms and embrace you, just like the mother and her little bunny. So, as I finished reading this book with Audrey, I brought her in tight in my arms, gave her a big bear hug, and showered her with kisses. Someday she’ll be embarrassed by that, but for now, I’ll embrace every minute of it!
Seeing God in Story Books
