The LORD Opened the Mouth of the Ass

I flew off her front. He was flung off her rear. That was the last time any of us tried to ride her.

We had a menagerie of pets when I was a kid. Rabbits. Rats. Chickens. Dogs. Cats. A duiker. And that donkey. We called her Eeyore. Original, I know.

That day, my birthday, I learned first-hand where we get the expression, "as stubborn as an ass." I believe my sister still has a scar from where Eeyore up and reared her in the leg. She was stubborn, but she was also smart.

On a number of occasions we found the outside faucet running full blast. To our shame we kept blaming the gardener, until we caught Eeyore in the act. She would take the spigot in her mouth, clamp down with her ivory teeth, and twist. Once her thirst was quenched, she would turn and walk away. To this day we are confident that she knew how to turn the faucet off. She was just too darn stubborn to do it.

There are only three donkeys of which I am aware that have received good publicity. The donkey upon which a very pregnant Mary rode from Nazareth to Bethlehem. The foal which carried the humble King through the streets of Jerusalem five days before his crucifixion. And Balaam's ass.

I wish I could have been that ass this morning. As far as I know, he is the only ass that has ever had something to say which didn't get him in trouble. What I said isn't important. The fact that I said it, I deeply regret. The words rolled off my tongue and shot past my lips, and immediately I wished I could reel them back in. But I'm stubborn. And not that smart. So I opened my mouth and out they flew.

And yet, when I think about it, I guess the LORD opened the mouth of this ass too. He eventually humbled me enough to ask for forgiveness.