Molly the Meadowlark and the Song of Enough - A Children's Story

 

Molly the Meadowlark and the Song of Enough

By Bill Conley, America’s Favorite Children’s Storyteller and Author

Moral of the Story:
You are good enough exactly as you are today. God shaped you with care, and He makes no mistakes. Your heart, your talents, your voice, and your spirit matter.
You do not need to earn love by being bigger or louder. You are seen even when you feel overlooked. You are loved even in moments you doubt it. Your gifts are blessings meant to shine gently in the world. Believe in yourself because God already believes in you.

Molly the Meadowlark lived in the wide green meadows near a quiet winding stream. Her feathers glowed soft brown and golden, and her little wings fluttered fast when excitement filled her heart. She was small but full of wonder. Still, Molly often felt like she was not enough.

When the other birds sang high in the morning chorus, Molly listened from her branch. Her friends could hit long, beautiful notes, build the biggest nests, and zip through the sky with loops and twirls. Molly admired them, but instead of feeling inspired, she felt invisible.

One evening, she whispered to Mama and Papa Meadowlark, “What if I am not good enough? What if I do not matter? What if nobody sees me? What if nobody cares?”

Mama Meadowlark wrapped her wings gently around Molly and said, “Sweet girl, God stitched your heart before your feathers. He knew your name long before your song. You are seen. You are loved. You are chosen. And you are enough.”

Papa Meadowlark nodded and added, “Bravery is not always soaring high. Sometimes bravery is singing at all when your heart feels unsure. And Molly, you sing because God placed music inside you.”

That night, Mama gave Molly a small mirror made of polished lake stone. “Every morning before you sing,” she said, “look at yourself and say, ‘I am enough because God says so.’ Let those words sink gently into your heart.”

Molly practiced. The first day it felt strange. The second day it felt uncertain. The third day it felt softer. By the seventh day, the words fit like a warm, familiar quilt.

Then came the day of the Morning Meadow Harmony Festival, when all young birds were invited to sing a solo. Every bird signed up, but Molly hesitated. Her stomach fluttered like a skipping stone tossed across a lake. She almost hid in her nest, but she remembered her parents’ voices and God’s promise.

She stepped forward. Small wings. Big faith. Steady heart.

Molly closed her eyes and began. Her song was not the loudest. It was not the longest. It was not the highest. But it was true, sincere, gentle, heartfelt, and warm. The meadow grew quiet, not because her voice failed, but because her voice mattered.

When she finished, the meadow erupted with loving chirps, fluttering claps, and joyful wings beating in applause. Her song carried honesty, and honesty touches hearts faster than perfection ever will.

That day, Molly learned something powerful: the world does not need a copy of anyone else. It needs a Molly.

Her friends Buster the Bluebird, Millie the Mockingbird, Mia the Macaw, Marty the Mallard, and Marigold the Mourning Dove surrounded her in congratulations. “Molly,” Millie said, “your song felt like sunshine after rain!”

Marigold added, “You made the meadow feel hopeful.”

Molly turned to her parents, teary-eyed but smiling, and said proudly, “I think I was always enough. I just had to believe it.”

Mama whispered, “Yes, love. Enough was already written into you.”

Papa smiled and said, “Now go bless the world with your song.”

And she did.

From that day on, whenever any young bird felt invisible or not enough, Molly would hop beside them on the grass and say, “You are enough. Say it. Believe it. Because it’s true.”

Moral of the Story Poem:

I sing because God placed music deep inside me, not to compete.
I matter because the Lord knows me by name when I feel small and incomplete.
I am seen even when no applause rises at the end of the day.
I am loved even when the world is loud, and I have nothing clever to say.
I do not need to be high or long or grand to be heard as true.
God gave me a gift to bless the world: one feather, one song, one me, one you.
I am enough, always enough, because God says so with care.
The me I am today is a blessing to the world because I am rare.

Discussion Questions:

1.     Have you ever seen a child find courage when someone simply told them they already mattered?

2.     Do kids believe kinder when love is spoken softly, repetitively, and consistently over their lives?

3.     If God designed every child with unique gifts, could comparison ever steal the joy He meant them to carry?