There was once a little beetle named Delilah. She was a plain grey beetle who
looked just like all the other beetles of her kind. This saddened her a
great deal for she knew in her heart that she was a special and unique
beetle. There was no one else quite like her. Every day she would go
about her daily chores thinking of a way to make herself known. She
wanted to be rewarded for things that she did. She was tired of the
whole colony getting rewarded by the queen for the work that she’d done.
But how can I get credit when the queen cannot tell me apart from anyone else? She
was also sick and tired of being treated as though there was nothing
special about her. She thought about this a great deal. Frustrated, she
left the colony in search of an answer.It was a very hot day and the little beetle was becoming thirsty. Sensing that there was water off to her right somewhere, she moved off the worn path. She crawled through a tall patch of grass and saw the most beautiful lake that she had ever seen. She didn’t remember ever seeing this place before, although she had walked that path many times. Hmmmm. She looked all around at all the beautiful trees and flowers. There were creatures of all different types and sizes. She did not see anyone else like her. She slowly crept toward the lake and lowered her mouth to the surface of the water for a drink. Ripples formed in the water from where her antennas tapped the surface of the lake.
“Delilah? Delilah? What is bothering you so my child?”
Delilah cautiously looked up and around her. She didn’t see whoever was calling her. She returned to drinking water from the lake.
“Delilah!”
This time the voice startled her and she fell backwards onto the shore.
“Who...who is there?” Delilah asked afraid.
“I Am who I Am. What is troubling you so dear daughter?”
“Why do you call me your child, your daughter? My parents live back at the colony. I know not who you are.”
“I am the Lord, thy God. I am the creator of the heavens and the earth; of all things living on the earth.”
“You…You are God?”
“Yes.”
“Why do You take such an interest in little ol’ me? I am of no importance to anyone.”
“Oh, my child, but you are. You are a unique being. I created you to be just who you are.”
“But I am the same as everyone else. No one even notices me.”
“I notice you. I know everything there is to know about you, Delilah. There is nothing about you that is the same as anyone else.”
Delilah looked down at her reflection in the lake. She saw the same grey beetle that she had seen all of her life. She didn’t feel unique in any way. As far as she could tell, she still looked just like all of the others. Delilah sighed as a single tear dropped from her eyes into the lake causing ripples to travel across the lake.
“My child, why do you feel so low? Do you not know how special you are to Me?”
“I look just like the rest of my kind. I work harder than everyone else does, but the queen believes that all of my hard work is done by the entire colony. I want the recognition that I so richly deserve.”
God was saddened by this. He knew that Delilah was being self-centered and thinking only of herself. He did not want His child to feel so poorly, but He did not want her to be selfish either. He decided to teach her a lesson.
“What is it that you want My child?”
“I want to be different. I want the queen to be able to know that the work being done is being done by me. I want my reward.”
God sighed, “Close your eyes, Delilah.”
He took some mud from the shore of the lake and rubbed it on the top of her head.
“Open your eyes, Delilah and wash your head off in the cool water of the lake.”
Delilah looked curiously into the lake. Her reflection was rippled and unclear. She closed her eyes and began to wash the mud off of her head. As she washed the last of the mud off of her body, her reflection started to clear up. Has something changed? Why did God put mud on my head? Was something supposed to have happened? I don’t feel any different. Then she closed her eyes again and lowered her head beneath the cool surface of the water. As she lifted her head out of the water she noticed something unusual. Her reflection appeared to have an extra pair of eyes and they were staring back at her! I don’t remember ever having eyes on the back of my head before.
“They are not eyes Delilah. You wanted to be different so I gave you spots that look like eyes. With the spots you are now very visible to predators. They will be able to pick you out of the entire colony. However, by shaping the spots to look like eyes, it should deter them from pursuing you.”
She was not sure that she liked her new look. Even so, she did not want to be rude so she thanked the Lord for his gift. Then she returned to her colony.
The beetles from Delilah’s colony whispered and pointed amongst themselves as she walked into the colony. Who was this strange creature entering their beloved colony?
“Who are you and what do you want here?” they asked.
“Do you not know me? I’m Delilah.”
“No, that cannot be. Delilah looks exactly like us, but you are different.”
“But it is me. I worked the fields with you this morning. Mom, Dad surely you recognize me.”
“That sounds like Delilah, but that definitely does not look like her,” her father said.
Tears started to flow from her eyes. It had not occurred to her that no one would recognize her. Though she looked differently, she was still the same person. Surely, the Queen will know me. She walked past the crowd and headed towards the palace.
“What do you want with the Queen?” the guards asked.
“It is me, Delilah. I would like to speak to the Queen,” she said timidly.
“You are not Delilah. We know her. Who are you really?” they asked suspiciously.
“I really am Delilah. Please let me see the Queen. She will recognize me.”
The guards looked at each other. One walked behind Delilah and forced her to walk forward poking her with the tip of his spear. The other guard walked in front of Delilah.
The Queen looked up from her reading as the doors to the throne room opened.
“Yes? What is it?” she asked.
“This creature claiming to be Delilah has demanded to see you. We do not know who she really is or why she needs to speak with you.”
The Queen slowly got up from her throne and crept forward. She kept her eyes on the beetle with her guards. She does not look familiar, but yet there is something familiar about her. The Queen approached Delilah and ran her antennas over her face.
“Delilah? What happened to you?” the Queen asked shocked.
Delilah quickly explained to the Queen all that had happened that morning. Tears fell from her eyes onto the floor. The Queen felt saddened by Delilah’s tears.
“Oh Delilah. How silly you are. Do you not know how unique and special you are? You did not need to look or act differently. I knew who you were all this time. I know the hard work that you do for me in the fields. It is not by the way that you look that you are judged, but by your good works. I am so sorry that I did not reward you for all of your good works. I hope that you will forgive me.”
The Queen then took Delilah into her arms and hugged her.
“I have always loved you for who you are Delilah and not because of the way you look. I’m sorry that you felt lost in the colony. But what’s done is done.”
She smiled down at Delilah as she wiped a single tear from her eyes. Delilah looked down at the floor a moment thinking.
“Perhaps, God will change me back.”
“Perhaps. But either way, I will still love you.”
“It’s okay too if you don’t reward me for my hard work. I should not be so selfish.”
Delilah thanked the Queen before heading home. Her parents looked at her questioningly as she entered their home.
“Is that really you, Delilah?” her mother asked.
“Yes, it’s me, Mom.”
“Why did you do this? Were you not happy with who you were?” her father asked.
“No, but I realize now that I am not what I look like. I am what is on the inside. I hope that you will accept me this way because I’ve decided to stay this way.”
“Oh Delilah, we love you no matter what.”
“Thank you. I love you guys too.”
God smiled as He watched Delilah. He was glad that she had learned from this.
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