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I watched a spider build her web.
An observastion some might dread.
I could have easily knocked it down
And crushed her body in the ground.
But instead I watched without concern
Never knowing there was a lesson I could learn. |
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Her web was on a branch that reached out over the edge of the lake. I watched the spider as it climbed down a single thread to the surface of the water. It occurred to me that if she continued down the same path soon a fish would jump up and eat her. As if listening to my thoughts, the spider stopped about a foot and a half from the surface of the water. It seemed in indecision as to whether to continue or not. I waited. While I waited I wondered how far the spider could see. I could see across the lake. Surely the spider couldn't see beyond several feet. I had an understanding and knowledge of the entire wildlife management area and beyond. Surely the spider's understanding did not exceed the few branches of the tree it lived in. Could it see or smell the water below it? Was it aware there was a lake below when it started the journey down? Did it know what a fish was?
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How like me this spider is. How often have I made up my mind, unaware of the consequences, only to stop in mid-stream sensing some danger? For me there is generally some piece of wisdom I have ignored. Often it is a short cut that my laziness and lack of patience find attractive. I wonder if, like in the case of the spider, there isn't some greater intelligence out there watching and wondering whether I will continue heading toward the hungry fish? |
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As in the case of the spider I know there is some greater intelligence watching me. If I had intervened for the spider's benifit it would have reacted in fear without understnading and no doubt would have continued along the same path again at some later date. I wonder how often God has intervened on my behalf only to have me attempt the same act of foolishness again at some later date?
How then is the spider or me to know when danger is near? For the spider there are her senses and an innate understanding of the characteristics of her environment. A vibration on her web means something is caught in it. The larger the vibration is the larger the captive is. Like a computer program or the ten commandments of the insect world, maintaining these rules of nature will protect her from harm and keep her functioning within her paramenters.
But I am not an insect or a computer program. I like to step out of my paramters, test my limits, see whats on the other side of the mountain. What then will guide me as my natural sense of curiosity leads me wondering and wandering? Do you know? I do.
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