The Cheese Stands Alone

Today, I thought I'd share an oldie, but a goodie. I wrote this one when Ashley was 3, back in 2007. Seeing all the young adults graduate this week has made me nostalgic. For the seniors, and all of us, it is good to know that we have Someone who goes with us, always.

Image from http://josiesniece.blogspot.com

I've been reading books of nursery rhymes to Ashley lately, and teaching them to her, just as parents have done throughout the years. They are like old familiar friends from childhood. They have nice rhythm and rhyme. They bring back memories of carefree days, youthful innocence, and uninhabited laughter. I think they are as much fun for me as they are for her.

But as I read them, I have to wonder about them. What kind of weirdos wrote these things? I'm not even going to start on fairy tales....that's a whole other ball game. Sticking to nursery rhymes, think about them. For the most part they make no sense. There is no story line, no moral, no reason for the things that happen. “Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle, the cow jumped over the moon. The little dog laughed to see such a sight, and the dish ran away with the spoon.” Why did the cat have a fiddle, and was his playing so bad that the cow jumped all the way over the moon to get away? And why a cow? Cow can't even jump. Why not an animal that might have a chance at jumping over the moon....maybe a kangaroo, or a rabbit....or how about a flea? I can’t think of any fleas in nursery rhymes, although there are spiders and flies. There are also a disproportionate number of mice. There are the three blind mice that lose their tails to the butcher's wife, which is kind of sad and shows that she is either really sadistic, or has really bad aim. There are the three mice that ran up the clock, but we don't know why. We just know that when the clock strikes, they run back down. Also, notice mice often come in threes. That may help you if you are setting mouse traps.

There is also a mouse in the farmer in the dell. I remember singing this little ditty when I was small, but now I notice it leaves many questions unanswered. Let me refresh your memory. “The farmer in the dell, the farmer in the dell, hi ho the dairy-o, the farmer in the dell.” The song goes on, with the farmer taking his wife, the wife taking the child, the child taking the dog, the dog taking the cat, the cat taking the mouse, the mouse taking the cheese, but the cheese stands alone. We don't know where they are all going, how they are getting there, or why. I'd like to know where they found a dog, at cat and mouse that don't chase each other and a wife that doesn't mind a mouse as a traveling companion. But notice this...none of them are alone. They all have someone they can take, except of course for the cheese, who is probably dinner anyway. None of us are ever alone either. We all have Someone we can take, anywhere, everywhere, always, regardless of where we are going and why. And not only does our Someone go with us, He helps us, supports us, guides us, advises us, protects us, and loves us along the way. In fact, He never leaves us. He doesn't fall asleep on the job like little boy blue. He doesn't run away like Georgie Porgy or little Miss Muffett. And while Mary had a little lamb, we are His little lambs.

Our lives are not nursery rhymes, which is good, because they don't seem to end happily very often. But just like the songs had an author who created the characters and put them in their situations, we have an Author who created us and placed us exactly where He wanted us. Fortunately, our Author isn't just trying to make a funny song with no concern for the characters' best interests. All He asks in return is all we are and all we have. That may seem like a lot, but the truth is, once we give that to Him, He gives us so much more in return. God's math defies our scientific laws.

Nursery rhymes are fun. Children love them and just enjoy them for their fun and simplicity. They don't questions the wheres, whys, or hows. And that's good. They'll have plenty of questions to worry about as they grow up. I'm thankful for their innocence, trust, and fun spirit. I'm also thankful for the questioning mind God gave me. Most of all, I'm thankful for God's endless love.