Marcella and the Moon...

Marcella is a duck that paints the moon each night while other ducks go to swim in the moonlit lake. She isn't well like by the other ducks as she is seen as an outsider and not like them. She paints the moon each night in succession and she notices that each evening the moon gets thinner. Finally, the moon isn't visible at all and the other ducks don't know where the moon has gone (these ducks are apparently only 28 days old). They go to find Marcella to see if she knows where the moon might perhaps be. She explains to them that they shouldn't worry because the next evening the moon would return (Marcella must be 30 days old). And just as the duck prophetess predicts, the moon does return and the ducks are all relieved... and of course live happily ever after.

"Marcella and the Moon" reminds me of what Paul discussed with the Christians that gathered at Corinth. "Can the body all be an eye," he asks? He responds to his own question: "Of course not, what an odd thing it would be."

Marcella's love was to paint. The ducks that wouldn't be friends with Marcella all loved to swim instead of paint. Once the disappearing moon dilemma was resolved due to Marcella's... uh, gifts (see where I'm going?) they invited her to swim in the lake.

Like Marcella, God has given each of us gifts or talents that benefit the group, i.e. body, as a whole. Our desire to paint the moon is His desire to equip the body for the task at hand. We often quote the text, "God will give us the desires of our hearts" as a spiritual key to get all the toys we've ever dreamed of getting. While He does desire to give us good gifts as the perfect Father, I think I can make a decent case, from Psalm 37, that those who delight themselves in the Lord will be given the desires of (or implanted into) their heart. In other words, a life God orders will have His desires at heart. It's almost like a quid pro quo relationship, yet one we cannot earn by returned favors. He delights in our heart as we delight in His heart.

Even though Marcella wasn't well received, and just because you are willing to follow God by using your gifts and talents for Him, doesn't mean you'll be well received. Your desires and talents may be weird in others' less discerning eyes, but God uses a few of us odd birds (pun intended) to benefit the whole duck group here on this universe's big moonlit lake.

So follow His calling... paint the moon. Some freaked out ducks are going to need you!