When I arrived at the barn this morning, I found Lilly crying herself silly, back behind a bale of hay. She appeared to have been doing so all night long, as her eyes were swollen from all the tears shed, thus far. I’d never seen such sorrow in the usually, bright and laughable little ant.

Attempting to sit up and dry her own tears as I approached, Lilly tried to greet me in her usual way… without success! Unable to control her own emotions, she once again burst into tears, burying her face in tissue.

For a time, I simply sat beside my small friend and waited, while she tearfully tried to explain why she’d been so upset. For anyone who doesn’t know, Lilly is an ant, though her fur and ears give her the appearance of an unusually small bunny with very large eyes. She was born this way, and there seemed to be no rhyme or reason for why she was different from her family.

As far as I knew, her colony had seemed accepting of who Lilly was. I thought they’d been understanding of the things that made her unique. Until now, Lilly had been mostly living with her colony, occasionally visiting us here, at the barn. If you recall, they’d even come to visit last month, when I’d written the story of when an ant floated into the yard upon the fluff of a dandelion. Lilly’s family seemed proud of who she was.

Well… apparently, I was wrong!

Yesterday, Lilly was asked by her colony not to return. While I realize that she has grown a bit larger than most ants, I thought it was mainly due to her ears, and not her actual size. I guess the colony can no longer offer adequate space for her larger body, and long ears. Lilly then told me of an incident that happened several days earlier. She’d accidently fallen through the floor of her sleeping chamber, into the nursery below. Though no babies were harmed in the incident, it was decided that she posed a threat to the safety of the colony.

Realizing that this was was a heartbreaking situation for all involved, I did my best to comfort my young friend.

Why does being different have to hurt so much? Why does fear make us do and say things that bring about such sorrow? Why did I have no words to heal the hurt that I saw within my friends eyes?

Sometimes, it is best to simply throw all the Why questions out the window!

Maybe, the only thing we can do for another’s pain, is to just stay… whether or not you know the answer… just stay.

A touch, a shoulder to lean against, or simply just your presence beside the one in need. There are those times when we are not called to do or say anything… just be love, in the form of a brother, a sister, a parent, or a child!

If we see another hurting and we don’t know what to do or say, let us please just try to stay… don’t turn away.

Sitting beside Lilly on that bale of hay, I had no words that would make this go away, no plan of action to save the day!

Instead, I leaned closer and offered my nearness to comfort Lilly, as she cried out every last tear. When she finally began to feel better and the tears subsided, Lilly climbed onto my shoulder and nestled into the collar of my shirt.

In the smallest of voices, she asked “Can I stay with you here, in the barn? I promise I won’t make a mess… and my family said they would come visit me here, if you say it’s alright… and I won’t eat too much… and I’ll be quite at night… and…”

“What a brilliant idea!” I interrupted. “Lilly, you’ve always been welcome here, and the rest of the babes will be thrilled when we tell them!”

In my opinion, it was a perfect solution… and it wasn’t even me that came up with the idea! I had the perfect place for her in my office, near the window. “I think you’ve come up with the perfect idea!” I continued, “You can even share the laptop on my desk, for your writing. I’ll use it in the daytime and you can use it during the evening, when I’m doing other things.”

As I spoke, Lilly began to wiggle, excitedly adding her own suggestions about the tiny window room. It was settled!

The timing couldn’t have been more perfect, as the sounds of waking babes began drifting down, from the rafters above our heads…

I pray that you show some grace towards Lilly’s family through all of this. Sometimes we do and say things that hurt others, not with intent, nor malice, but simply out of fear and circumstance. I honestly think that Lilly’s colony didn’t mean to hurt her feelings, but acted out of fear. It doesn’t make it right, but sometimes it happens.

That’s what forgiveness is all about…