Spider Lessons

We could learn some valuable lessons from spiders.

Last week, Hurricane Irma deposited a poplar tree onto the front of our house, effectively blocking the entrance. When I was asked to take some pictures for the insurance company a couple of days later, I opened the front door and found a rather elaborate spider web. It ran from the tree to the top of the house. It was perfectly formed and ready for business.

Now, I’m not a huge fan of spiders, but when they are outside where they belong, I can really admire their intricate work. As I examined the web, from a safe distance of course, I thought about how quickly that spider had decided to take the opportunity to set up shop. That tree hadn’t been their 48 hours yet, but there it was.

I also felt a little badly for it that the tree wouldn’t be there for long. A tree service had already been called to remove it and when that happened, all of that hard work would be wasted.

Of course, spiders don’t actually think about things like that. They just do. They build webs and they catch bugs, plain and simple. They don’t worry about spinning in the perfect spot with the ideal traffic flow or about what will happen if their web gets destroyed. They are builders.

I think we might be able to learn something from spiders. How often are we hesitant to share our faith or to do what we know we are called to do, because the timing isn’t right? How often do we ignore those nudges to call, or help, or share, or listen, or speak, or simply act, because the conditions aren’t what we consider ideal?

How often do we forget that the God we serve can make His voice heard and advance His kingdom in any type of circumstance? How often do we miss the opportunity to be a part of it because we don’t deem the situation to be ideal? How many times do we miss blessing others and miss being blessed ourselves in the process?

What would our faith look like if like spiders, we were always ready and willing to get to work, no matter what the situation looks like? What if we weren’t afraid to fail? What if when our plans got knocked down, we just simply dusted ourselves off and rebuilt? What would our world look like if all Christians were willing to act that way?

I think it would be amazing. A spider reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂