Mammy told us many things
when we were wee.
Some of these
I have discounted over time
(such as our family being descended
from the kings of Derry and Donegal!)
Others, I have held onto.
Such as Mammy’s instruction
regarding moths –
“Never kill a moth
because it could be
a handsome prince
in disguise.”

To this day,
I never knowingly kill a moth
(even though I know for a fact
that it’s not a handsome prince!)

So today,
when I spotted a tiny moth
in our bathroom,
I rushed to get a plastic cup
to rescue him.
But as I moved towards him,
cup in hand,
the moth leapt about two inches
into the air
before falling down motionless
on the window sill.

“Oh dear!”
I thought to myself,
“I’ve given him a heart-attack!”

Saddened,
I placed the plastic cup
over the wee moth
and left the bathroom.
Ten minutes later
I checked the bathroom.
There was no sign of life
but I just couldn’t bring myself
to squish the wee moth.

Imagine my surprise
a short time later
when I went into the bathroom
and the moth was no longer
on the windowsill –
he was at the very top
of the plastic cup
on the inside!

He was alive after all!

Within a few minutes
the wee moth had been released
into the front garden.

Yay!!!

Later on
I find myself thinking
about the wee moth …

That wee moth was beautiful.
He was created by God
Who blessed it with the nature
to play dead when in danger.
and Who went to all the trouble
of creating a wile, wile wee heart
inside that tiny body.

I find myself thinking …
if God cares that much
about a wee, tiny moth,
how much more does He care
about each one of us?

And I also find myself thinking …
that wee moth surprised me
enormously …
how much more
will God surprise me,
if only I give Him the chance?

Isn’t God is truly wonderful ?
(far better than a handsome prince,
for sure!)

© Claire Murray, 2nd January 2026