“Well, well, well!” said Mr. Potato Head as he came into the kitchen dragging a HUGE vegetable!  “Look at the size of this baby!”

Mrs. Potato Head (the wife) threw up her hands in exasperation and jumped up and down saying “That will never fit in this frying pan! That thing won’t even fit on our table!  In fact, I am really tired of doing all this work in such a tiny kitchen.  You know, Mrs. Mawakasunga has a big kitchen, with an island in the middle that has a stove top and she has two ovens and a warming drawer.  I would LOVE a warming drawer.  Just imagine!  In fact I think we need a bigger house.  Poor Haman and Polly have so little space for all their toys.  A BIG house is a good investment in our future.”

Mr. Potato Head said “Well . . . well . . . well . . .”, stopping after each ‘well’ to consider what Mrs. Potato Head said.  “A bigger house WOULD be a good investment in our future.  And if we find any more tater tots out in the cabbage patch, we would need another bedroom so the little ones would not need to be crowded  into sharing a bedroom.”

Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head looked at that zucchini and KNEW they needed a bigger house.  After all, isn’t “BIGGER BETTER?”  Mr. Potato Head imagined a big workshop with all the big power tools he has always wanted.  And while he was at it, he might just as well buy a big new car.  The old van is starting to show some rust.

They stood together in the kitchen beside that zucchini and thought about all the STUFF they think they need.  Their daydream was interrupted when Polly came in for a drink of water.

“Whoa!” she exclaimed as she gazed upon the magnificence of the large vegatable.  “That zucchini is too big for our house!  I guess you are going to give it to someone who does not have any zucchini.  Cause that would be what Jesus would say, right?”  She got her water and out she went, to play in the yard with Haman.

Polly’s question hung in the air for a moment like open cupboard doors while Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head collected thoughts about all the things they wanted, and put those thoughts away in the cupboards of their minds and closed the doors.

They looked at each other and hugged.  They didn’t need more stuff.

“My kitchen is just fine, now that I think of it.  I’m just so thankful that I have YOU and the children.”  And Polly and Haman’s mommy and daddy kissed, right there in the kitchen!  “And . . .” she continued as soon as the kiss was finished, “I think I will cut all this zucchini up and make bread and take it to church to sell at the bread sale to help raise money for World Hunger.

“Well, well, well!” said Mr. Potato Head, raising his eyebrows up and down and smiling.  “I think I also have everything I want, right here.”  Then he added with a bit on self importance, “I will help you make zucchini bread to raise money to feed the hungry around the world.”

In today’s lesson we hear Jesus say something like “one’s life does not consist in the abundance of power tools and kitchen space and new cars and big houses like those who have MORE than us.”  Jesus expects our life to consist of love and compassion for each other and for those who have so much LESS than us!    THE END

Printer friendly copy of this story