God’s Creatures DO NOT Belong in My House!

Bless my heart. I’m not much of a screamer. I always told my girls, “Don’t scream unless it’s something important or you are in trouble.

There are two exceptions – SPIDERS and ROACHES.

In Illinois, we had a variety of spiders that invaded our home at different times of the year. Back in the days of the hippie-dippie-trippies, we were advised to allow good spiders to infest our homes to keep the bugs at bay. There was no way on God’s green earth I would allow such creatures to inhabit every nook and cranny as they suggested.

Granddaddy long legs with their awkward appendages were fun to watch. I was sometimes able to corral them into something and deposit them safely outside the house. Even if I did have to shiver a little in fear.

In fall and winter, wolf spiders invaded our home. Especially the basement. Wolf spiders were TOTALLY SCREAM WORTHY! The mere sight of one would send me upstairs for the day. If was evening and Ronald was home, I would run screaming for my fearless hero who would always respond quickly to my request to kill the hairy, ferocious creepers. Even now I break out with the shivers and goose bumps thinking about them.

Since we don’t have many spiders in Georgia, my screaming in that category is minimal.

However!!!

Though not as big as the ones we had during our brief retirement in south Texas, we have roaches here almost as big as a VW Beetle! Well, almost.

Some people even have them in their homes!

Sometimes we do if one of the nasty little suckers happens to fly in through an open door. But there is no way I will have those revolting varmints sharing my inner space!

We were lucky to buy this house from a professional exterminator. Alan sprayed the attic. Then I had insulation put in our crawlspace. He sprayed strong powder there as well. Plus, as an extra precaution, I put roach traps and roach pills in every nook and cranny!

Mostly, the only roaches we see are a few that bravely traversed my diabolical traps and realized too late that I was serious about my NO ROACH policy.

Which brings me to the tale of my own outstanding bravery in the face of the deadliest creature.

One evening, I had been up late writing. As I peeled off my clothes to get ready for bed, a black beast scampered across the floor. I jumped back and courageously stifled a scream!

Now there is a wee bit of a backstory. I am rather challenged when it comes to my eyes. Whether near or far, I don’t always see clearly. As I held my breath and tried to focus, I assumed it was a roach from its color, general size, and shape.

There is another bit of backstory my readers should know. Long ago, I blossomed from flat as a pancake to ‘blessed size’. I tend to wear low-cut blouses – I think the designers think that style make us look skinnier. It doesn’t. We just have what I call ‘gap-osis’. In reality, it just provides ample opportunity for bits and pieces of lunch or maybe a snack or two to find resting places where they have no business being.

But you can imagine my overwhelming relief when I found that the big, black ‘roach’ that now lay still on my floor was nothing more than a black olive that had found its way to the nether regions of my ‘blessed’ foundational garment!

Now lest you think this whole blog is pointless, let me assure you of this –

Ninety percent of the things we fear will not harm us. I would try to do the math on my mass compared to a spider, but I can’t count that high, but I am not talking about spiders now. I’m talking about life and the things that frighten and cause us to doubt God’s goodness and provision. Even when bad things happen, God is still in control, and He always knows exactly what He is doing.

AND

Probably over ninety percent of the things we fear will never happen. I’m not saying be oblivious to danger and throw caution to the wind. I’m saying use your good sense and trust God that He will work all things for your good.

The most important thing I can remind you of is something I am one hundred percent sure of … If you are a believer, you can believe this!

Joshua 1:9

God commands us.

“Be strong and courageous.

Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged,

for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

And we all shouted a great, big “Hallelujah!” Amen?