Dottie Friendofall was a ladybug. One day she was in the garden during an afternoon tea party when Pamela Sunaplant, a purple and yellow butterfly, was entering. “Oh, look,” said Wilma Buffington, one of the garden party guests, “there’s a butterfly.” There were ooos and ahhhhs over Pamela until she nearly sprained a wing fluttering past the party guests. “Look at the colors,” Wilma said peering out from under the brim of her sun bonnet, “such graceful feathers and the swoops of dancing from flower to flower.” All the ladies gushed and mushed and pointed their freshly manicured fingers toward the patterning of Pamela. Dottie Friendofall, the ladybug, got no attention at all and it hurt her feelings. “I guess I don’t belong in the garden,” she sighed to herself as she backed off the night blooming hibiscus and dropped to the ground. Marvin Gonkagill, a green leaf snail who was wise in bugonomics, whispered to her, “Dottie, if you didn’t eat the harmful insects and keep the garden clean of toxic chemicals, Pamela the butterfly wouldn’t have a petal to flutter into.” That made Dottie’s feelers perk up and the dots on her red vest shine. You see, butterflies who flutter by are great joys, but so are ladybugs who, like any lady, needed encouragement or the daily routine of their work could bug them out of the garden.
Oh, Great and Sovereign Gardner,
teach me how to be the worker doing well the job
You planned ahead for me.
And prompt me often in this day
To applaud the one who, in his way,
Tends to the work I may not do.
For doing and for doing not,
Can be one in praise for You.
Story by Jeannette Clift George
Artwork by Cyndi Crittenden
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About jeannettecliftgeorge
JEANNETTE CLIFT GEORGE
Jeannette Clift George is the founder and Artistic Director of the A.D. Players, the Houston-based Christian Theater Company which offers plays throughout the world.
Her extensive background in professional theater includes acting Off-Broadway and touring with the New York Shakespeare Company. She has performed at the Playhouse in the Park in Philadelphia, and the Arena Stage in Washington. In Houston, she has performed at Stages Theatre, in the Alley Theatre and at Grace Theater, home of the A.D. Players, Jeannette has played the title roles in DRIVING MISS DAISY; LETTICE AND LOVAGE; RACHEL, A WOMAN OF MASADA; AND JULIAN, as well as portraying: Amanda in THE GLASS MENAGERIE, Lady Bracknell in THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST, and Carrie Watts in Horton Foote's THE TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL. Jeannette recreated that role with California's Lamb's Players Theatre and at Wheaton College in Illinois.
Her film debut was in World Wide Picture's THE HIDING PLACE, portraying Corrie ten Boom, a Dutch woman who saved the lives of scores of Jews during the Nazi occupation. Since the general release in 1975, the film has shown to large audiences worldwide, and enjoys continued popularity through video sales and rentals. Jeannette was nominated for a Golden Globe Award by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a Golden Apple Award by the Hollywood Women's Press Club, and as Most Promising Newcomer by the British Academy of Arts and Sciences. She appears in the award-winning film A PALE HORSE, and in the A.D. Players' videos: LIGATURE (on marriage enrichment), and JOSHUA AND THE TA RA, TA RAA, TA RAAA.
Jeannette is equally well-known as author, playwright, Bible teacher, and national speaker. In her radio program, JEANNETTE CLIFT GEORGE FROM CENTER STAGE, her unique wit and keen insights illuminate Biblical principles. She is author of the books DAISY PETALS; TRAVEL TIPS FROM A RELUCTANT TRAVELER; SOME RUN WITH FEET OF CLAY; THINK ME ON TO IT and TROUBLING DEAF HEAVEN. Her plays have been performed in Houston's Grace Theater as well as in many theaters, churches, and college campuses throughout the United States and abroad. She is a Staley foundation Distinguished Christian Scholar Lecturer and travels extensively speaking for conferences, schools and professional workshops.
Jeannette Clift George
Manor of Grace
2727 Saint Street
Houston, TX 77027
713-622-9169
jeannette@manorofgrace.com
Dottie Friendofall was a ladybug. One day she was in the garden during an afternoon tea party when Pamela Sunaplant, a purple and yellow butterfly, was entering. “Oh, look,” said Wilma Buffington, one of the garden party guests, “there’s a butterfly.” There were ooos and ahhhhs over Pamela until she nearly sprained a wing fluttering past the party guests. “Look at the colors,” Wilma said peering out from under the brim of her sun bonnet, “such graceful feathers and the swoops of dancing from flower to flower.” All the ladies gushed and mushed and pointed their freshly manicured fingers toward the patterning of Pamela. Dottie Friendofall, the ladybug, got no attention at all and it hurt her feelings. “I guess I don’t belong in the garden,” she sighed to herself as she backed off the night blooming hibiscus and dropped to the ground. Marvin Gonkagill, a green leaf snail who was wise in bugonomics, whispered to her, “Dottie, if you didn’t eat the harmful insects and keep the garden clean of toxic chemicals, Pamela the butterfly wouldn’t have a petal to flutter into.” That made Dottie’s feelers perk up and the dots on her red vest shine. You see, butterflies who flutter by are great joys, but so are ladybugs who, like any lady, needed encouragement or the daily routine of their work could bug them out of the garden.
