Spider Webs

So, I've spent a little bit of time this morning observing a Spider build a massive web outside my office window. Honestly, on a beautiful sunny day, it's hard to not just stare outside when you live in Washington, so don't begrudge me my wandering gaze too much. And it caused me to think about a couple of things.

First off, as much as I hate spiders inside, outside their webs can really be a work of art. Boy, was God clever when He made this creation around that a Spider can be an artist.

But webs generally bring up a different image for me than beauty. When I run into a spider web outside they drive me crazy. Because they're so thin nearly invisible, but once you hit them, they stick to you. They stick to you and you can't seem to brush them away. Know what I mean? Once you've got the invisible wisp of silk somewhere on your skin you can rub and brush all you want, but it seems to be impossible to get off. A huge annoyance.

And a great metaphor. How many times in our life do we bump up against things that just stick to us. A bad commute that ruins our morning. A rough encounter with a co-worker that sends us grumbling on to lunch. A fight with our spouse or kid that casts a drag on our evening. It's amazing how these little things stick with us. So many of us are simply unable to apologize, or to forgive, and move on. We let these invisible strands stick to us and distract and "bug" us for far too long.

Just like Spider Webs, this kind of stuff drives me crazy. I'd love to be the mature one that can easily brush these things away, but it's just so hard. Still, today, I'm inspired. I'm inspired by the beauty of the Spider web outside my window, to try and do a little better job this week of not letting things stick to me. Unless it's a real spider web I walk into. I still can't handle that.

Don't go to church, Be the Church

Bill