Ok, I have to say that spiders creep me out a little bit but no where near as bad as they freak my daughter out. The moment she sees one she runs for the hills. I on the other hand have to walk into the face of danger and rescue her from her eight legged terror. We live in an older home, surrounded by mature trees and bushes, so we see a lot of spiders. The routine is almost comical now, except for the fact that my younger two are beginning to follow suit.
The other day as I was "taking care of" a rather large spider in the down stairs bathroom I got to thinking about spiders (I know, I know, my brain never shuts off...) and why God would create them, and what I could learn from them. There were two main reasons I could come up with why spiders are useful in my life: one, they collect and eat bugs, two: they make beautiful webs.
Now I do not plan on ever being a contestant on a crazy game show so I don't think I am going to add "bug eating" to my to-do list. I am comfortable leaving that one to the spider. And as much as I wish I could spin silk from my back side, I don't think I will be making an intricate weaving between branch and limb anytime soon. But that idea did get me to think. I began to think about the intricate weaving of my life and how it resembles the delicate work of the spider.
Standing back and looking at the time and effort a spider puts into her web reminded me of the time and effort I put into my life. I started with one little idea to jump from a life lived with my mother to a life lived with my husband (the anchor strand of my web). That first jump is always the scariest. Then we chose to make our own family and with that came more jumping in and out, from our center to a new branch, to make the base for our family's web. And now we are down to the detailed work of weaving our lives in and out, up and down, round and round with each other.
Building a spider web takes a long time, just ask Charlotte and Wilbur, and many things can go wrong. A careless person can walk into it and take out half your work. A strong wind can come and blow several anchor lines off their branches. A heavy rain can wash away everything and you have to start again. But that is what spiders do. They spin webs in the hopes of catching something they need to live inside it's beautiful design. Challenges and adversity do not stop them from doing what they are designed to do. A broken web just means they have to get busy at making repairs.
A broken life does not mean that it should be scrapped and left to dangle in the breeze. It should be repaired and made whole again. And when your web is completely broken it is ok to grieve and then start over again on a new one. And yes, it will take time, but any work of beauty does. Take a look at this to be reminded of the beauty of a life's work spent on building a strong web:
As I sit back and look at my web I can see the places where I have had to make repairs. I can see the part that is still unfinished and I dream about what it will look like when it is completed. I can only hope that others will look at my web, glistening in the morning dew, and see a life well spent. I hope it pleases God and He is able to rejoice in the effort I have put forth and the care I have taken.
So..... What does YOUR spider web look like? Where did it start (that first scary jump)? And how are you weaving it together? Who and what else is part of your web, either as an anchor or a co-weaver? Can you see areas where your web needs repair? Can you recognize the successful repairs of past injuries? Does your web glisten in the sun or is it hiding in a dark corner? Has a gale force wind taken you out and you need to make a new first jump and begin spinning and weaving again?
My prayer for today is that we are each able to see the beauty of our individual lives. I pray that we put in extreme care and consideration as to where we anchor ourselves and what we spin around. I pray that we are resilient and hard working so that we can finish the masterpiece we have started. I pray that when times get tough, we are wounded, things look hopeless, that we turn to God for the strength and the encouragement to continue on. I pray that no matter what chases us or tries to destroy us, we hold fast to our faith in Christ Jesus and know that he has us safely in the palm of his hand.
Until We Meet Again,
Drea
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