Along Came a Spider

I have just about exhausted my poor computer’s search engine trying to find out how to get rid of and prevent spider webs. No matter how much I clean and knock those things down, they always come right back. I have googled and binged till I’m just about googled and binged out. I’ve seen everything from do-it-yourself solutions to ads for the best exterminators around. I honestly haven’t found any that appeared fool-proof enough to spend my time and money on. When I put down some chemicals to do away with some spiders, I don’t expect to ever see a spider in my house again...ever.

But, leave it to my ever-meddling pastor to give me the perfect solution. After a wonderful sermon hitting me right between the eyes, he summed it up nicely - the only way to stop spiders from rebuilding their webs is to...now get this...KILL THE SPIDER! Well duh! How simple is that?!

That may just be my problem. You see, I’m not one of those people who freaks out over spiders. Granted, I don’t want them crawling on me, but I don’t go all kung-fu on them either. When I see a spider crawling on the floor, or even climbing it’s pretty web up to the ceiling, I usually just leave it be. Sometimes it’s because I’ve got my hands full and to kill the spider would mean unloading and then trying to pick everything back up again. Most of the time, though, it’s because I’m just too busy to stop and deal with it. That one spider is not hurting anything right now, and when I squish it I’ll just have another mess to clean up.

The pastor’s sermon on spiders and their webs in dark corners entangling unsuspecting insects to their doom was, of course, representing the devil’s tactics to get us all tangled up in our sins. As I listened to his words, I saw how I could apply this same scenario to several areas of my life that, quite frankly, had become as troublesome as those never-ending spider webs. It seems that while I’ve been trying to keep the peace, I’ve only served to create chaos.

It’s easier to let the kids watch whatever is on tv than it is to argue with them about what they’re watching. It’s easier to let them play their video games instead of explaining the dangers of pretending to steal cars and beat people up. It’s easier to just do the chores myself than to teach them responsibility. It’s easier to let them sleep in after being up all night with friends sleeping over than it is to get everybody up and ready for church. It’s easier to let one more “I’m just kidding” remark slip by than it is to correct him for his disrespect. It’s easier to let the spider crawl back into the darkness on than it is to kill it.

It’s easy for phone calls to friends or church members to be overrun by dishes and laundry. It’s easy for visits with family to be pushed aside for errands and the occasional “down time.” It’s easy for quiet time with God to be interrupted by “Mama I need...” and “Mama can you...” For all my good intentions, I evidently lack the focus and determination to get to the more important things.

Instead of constantly worrying what somebody will think when they see all the spider webs in my house, maybe I should put some of that effort into preventing them in the first place. Instead of staying busy knocking them down, maybe I should kill a few spiders and clean up the mess.

(I hope you got as much out of this as I did. I am thankful for my wonderful Pastor who allows God to speak through him and, unknowingly, to get all up in my business. God Bless you all!)