Where Did The Kingdom Go?

The old man sat on a bench at the courthouse in the middle of town and just watched. There was a horse, a spider, an otter, and a kitten who were all friends. It was an odd friendship, to be sure, but it was the kind of friendships that were forged in the Kingdom. All around them were bands of friends ... paired up in the most unusual configurations ... but all of them were rich in their relationships with one another. When they first entered the Kingdom they were all so beaten by the enemy that lies outside the walls. Yet they found healing and strength together under the leadership of the King. Whenever new friends arrived into the Kingdom, they all rushed to their side and helped them grow accustomed to their new life of safety. This reminded the old timers of the terror they had escaped when they arrived. The horse, the spider, the otter, and the kitten had very different needs. The horse was bossy and often had to be reminded by the otter to lighten up, play more, and be humble. The spider was sneaky, and sometimes she needed a word from the horse to encourage honesty. The otter would never sit still long enough to absorb anything more than just surface knowledge, so occasionally the spider would slide a bucket of water in his way or spin a strong web across his path and trip him so that he would remember to sit still and listen. The kitten was fragile and needed more attention than the others. They all, at one time or another, cuddled her and made sure she knew they loved her. So in some way, each of them helped support the strengths of the other, and also help build up the weaknesses. One day the otter noticed that the spider was always playing tricks on him. And not only that, the horse just had to have his way all the time. Whenever they got together to talk about the Kingdom, it had to be at his smelly stall because that was the only place big enough for him. Of course while we were in there, he had to tell us all what we could and couldn't do. This wore on the otter, and he began to feel restentful toward the horse. The spider, on the other hand, didn't mind the stall at all. There was plenty of food there for her, and lots of interesting rafters to crawl on and dark corners in which to hide. Whenever Otter and Horse got into an argument, she would just crawl into a dark crevice and wait until it seemed like a good time to come out. Kitten was often distressed at the way that otter would talk back to Horse ... oh how noisy they could all be. She tried suggesting that they just speak sweetly and softly to one another. But it was very hard for them to do. They were both so convinced that they were right, and the other one must be wrong. And so Otter and Horse fought endlessly, kitten's meek and quiet pleas for them to get along went unheard, and spider cowered in the corner way up by the rafters. This went on day after day, week after week. Months later they were still arguing, weeping, and cowering. Finally they decided they just could not be friends ... they were just all so different. Horse decided they should all leave, because it was his house. Maybe others would come and recognize Horse's rightness, but even if they didn't and he was the last one there on the last day, at least he had stuck to his guns. Otter found some other otters and just felt that he had wasted all that time, when real happiness was out here. They all headed out on an endless search for the most fun, brightest lights, loudest music, and best dancing. Kitten wandered the streets until she found a kindly old grandmother to feed her a saucer of milk. Then she brought her into her quaint little home. Once inside, she placed kitten into a cage and left her there. She was fed, but that was all. Spider continued to lurk in her black hole until she grew old and died. No one even remembered that she was there. This circle of friends had offered each other so much, but their own selfishness wedged its way between them and they all thought they could have what they needed elsewhere. Now they were dead, lonely, entrapped, and distracted. It occurred to Horse that they had not talked about the Kingdom in a very very long time. He poked his head out of the stable and looked around. He looked North, and South. He walked outside in the field and looked East and West. The Kingdom was nowhere to be seen. Yet, he was the same person. The buildings were all the same. The sky, the grass, the road ... they all looked the same. But the Kingdom ... somehow horse knew that the Kingdom had left. In the place of contentment, joy, and friendship, was now death and loneliness and selfishness. The sky looked a little darker, and the paint on the stable looked fairly weathered, and Horse felt a good bit awful. What now? Maybe the old man knows. Horse asked the old man, "Where Did The Kingdom Go?" The old man looked at him as if he had not heard him ... but then he said, "what do you need a Kingdom for? You have a stable, Otter has his friends, Kitten is in a cage, and your old friend spider is dead. What do you think a Kingdom will do for you now?" Horse wimpered when he heard about spider ... he had forgotten all about her. He cried when heard that kitten was so entrapped and could not escape. He was jealous that otter was out having a big time. But he thought about the old man's question ... what do I need a kingdom for? Horse went down by the stream to think of an answer. Otter swam up on the bank and they talked. Once or twice they almost argued, but they remembered that it was of no use to be hateful to one another. It seemed that their friendship had never waned. Horse and Otter went to the old man and told him that they had an answer. "Speak", said the old man. "We need a Kingdom, because without it we cannot be us. But we are afraid we have lost it forever." The old man thought about their answer and told them that they were right. "Except that the Kingdom is within your reach. It was within you all along. The King set it up that way when he healed and repaired your broken hearts, back in the beginning." Otter asked, "what do we do now?" The old man grinned. "I think you should try to get kitten free. Her trap is of her own making, she just doesn't know it. And then you should tell the others. Remember spider. Spider died not knowing what you now know ... make sure others do not suffer her fate." Horse furrowed his brow and asked, "Why do we have to tell others? Can't they figure it out on their own?" "Perhaps," said the old man, "but their hearts are so focused on their own interests, that the Kingdom is far from them and it's really hard to see at that distance. Bring them closer." The old man sat on a bench at the courthouse in the middle of town and just watched.