Ribby’s Lessons on God: When Zoomies Turn Into Prayers (Children’s Short Story on Slowing Down, Isaiah 30:15)
“But I don’t wanna!!” the little boy yelled.
His mom sighed, looked down, and said, “Well, it’s time to start calming down for bedtime. We have to put the toys away. We won’t have time for story time if you don’t put them away now.”
The boy smiled and quickly started to put away his toys. He loved story time, and there was no way he was going to miss it!
After putting all things away, a quick bath, brushing his teeth, and of course a small glass of water, he was ready for story time. He grabbed his favorite stuffed dog and hopped up in bed with excitement.
“Well, I think a story with Ribby here,” the mom pointed down to the boy’s stuffed dog, “is just what we need. What do you think?”
“Yay!” the boy said, kicking his feet with excitement while snuggling up closer to his mom.
His mom started the story:
It was a sunny day, and Ribby was ready to play! He just loved being outside and running free. Well, as free as his safe backyard would allow him to run, that is. He started his usual zoomie path around the yard and was having the best time! He was going so fast he didn’t really even see anything; he knew the path and loved going around and around.
That’s when a new smell hit his nose. He stopped completely and sniffed. With his nose up in the air, he started looking around to see what it was. He walked slowly around the yard on the hunt now. What was it?
He searched behind the tree. Ribby’s nose led him over to the flowerbed, but that wasn’t the smell either. He was stumped but determined to find out what stopped his zoomies. So he kept on walking slowly around the yard but couldn’t find that mystery smell.
Somewhat disappointed, Ribby stopped and sat down right there in the middle of his zoomie path. He still could smell that new smell, so as he sat, he sniffed and looked around. Still nothing. Ribby closed his eyes for a moment, still sniffing. Then he opened his eyes and noticed he was looking up. There it was! Right in front of him was the most beautiful sunrise, but in the middle of that sunrise was a butterfly too!
That must have been it, thought Ribby happily. He sat and watched the sunrise and the butterfly for a long time that morning. His zoomies could wait; this was too good to miss. Ribby was somehow happier stopping to watch this new beauty in front of him.
From that day on, Ribby found himself stopping his zoomies to sit and watch the beauty of the sunrise, and every now and then the butterfly was there too. Even on the days the butterfly wasn’t there, Ribby knew that he was nearby.
“WOW! That was a good one, Mom,” the little boy said, yawning. “I couldn’t figure out what it was Ribby was looking for, and I love sunrises too, Mommy!”
“Me too! Did you notice how Ribby had to slow down to see that sunrise?” the mom asked. The boy nodded his head ‘yes.’
“Well, we have to do the same thing, honey. We can get so busy with our toys and playing that we forget to slow down and enjoy the things that seem small, like that beautiful sunrise Ribby saw. We also have to slow down each day to talk to God, who created that sunrise for us. How do we talk to God?” she asked her son.
“Oh, I know that one! We pray to God,” the little boy said, already folding his head, ready for his nighttime prayer. “Mommy, can you pray for us tonight?”
“Of course,” she said, folding her hands too, “God, please help us to slow down every day just like Ribby did in our story tonight. We love having fun with our toys and friends, but we want to slow down and see everything you have made for us too. Most importantly, help us to remember to talk to you each day, God, even if it is just a little bit. Thank you for loving us so much, and we love you too. Amen.”
The boy opened his eyes, unfolded his hands, and folded his arms around his mom, still gripping Ribby in his hands. “Thank you, Mommy! I love you, and I love you too, God.”
Family Questions:
- What made Ribby slow down? What did he find?
- What did the mom tell the little boy after story time? What did she remind him to do every day like Ribby the dog?
- Pray together! Use the prayer in the story, or just talk to God. Children can pray a thought, or you could model how to talk to God through prayer.
Parents/Guardians:
- Read Isaiah 30, specifically Isaiah 30:15, for your own deeper learning.
- Click here for a reflection that I wrote to help you as well! Hope it helps you on your journey.
With lots of faith and a little fur 🐾
Melanie Drews
Paws on God’s Path
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