After a long hot day of hiking and playing in waterfalls, we came home to rest our exhausted bodies. I went to lay on a bench outside under the fan. As I was getting situated something caught my eye. It was a minuscule black dot floating near my head. I looked closer to see that this pen point dot was actually a spider. Not just any spider, but one at work building his web. I watched him scurry back and forth from the support beam to the picnic table. He had so much enthusiasm and motivation. He wove his web with confidence and speed.
While I was enthralled with watching one of Gods smallest creatures, Michelle called me over. She wanted me to hear a song on her iPod. I got up carefully as to not disturb Spidy’s handiwork. After I listened to the song, I walked back to my bench and I accidentally forgot about my teensy friend. I messed up some of his web when I walked through it. As soon as I felt the tickling sensation of fine sticky fibers on my skin, I immediately knew what I had done. He was working so hard.
But when I looked at the tiny black body of the creature, he wasn’t moving. He dangled helplessly from the few small threads that weren’t demolished in my carelessness. Spidy’s quick and nimble legs curled up under his body. He looked so disheartened, so vulnerable, and hopeless. At his weakest moment, I could have squished his dainty little body right between my fingers. But I didn’t. Even though Spidy thought he was down for the count, I knew that if I watched him long enough he would eventually do something. The little guy continued to lay there, to dangle dangerously, and just allow the wind to sway the finest strands of his web violently back and forth.
How sad I felt for him. I watched and watched him for several minutes while he rested. His little legs came out from under his body. He began to perk up.
Spidy found his courage and strength. He cautiously moved from one end of his misshapen web to another, quietly inspecting the damage. After a minute of this he began to repair the damage. Once the repairs were made he emerged with a new attitude. My teensy little buddy got some energy and started to scurry from end to end building a bigger and stronger web. I celebrated as I saw his determination grow. I was invested in this little bugger. He found a center point to the web and pushed out thread from his tiny behind to make a star shape. Then Spidy made his signature continuous circles of thread from the star shape. He had such a confidence about him. He used his last reserves to finish his daunting project, but he did it with such grace and cheer.
I want to encourage you to have strength and determination like this little bug. When things get tough and you feel down for the count, be a spider and build your web again. Even if what you’re doing feel insignificant, keep at it. God is invested in you and He wants to see you succeed. As much as I want to encourage you, I’m also talking to myself.
You see, I’ve been feeling exhausted lately. We’ve been doing some manual labor here in Jaco. I’m not as in shape as I’d like to be. Sometimes I just want to give up or take another water break. It’s hot, it’s tiring, and sometimes I can’t even see the big picture of what I’m doing. Wether I’m painting a wall, digging a trench, or sorting rocks (small to large) into buckets, I know it has purpose. Maybe the purpose is to show my host that I care about her so much, I’ll do any task she asks of me. Maybe it’s just a way to get some exercise and all my work seems pointless or insignificant. Regardless of the purpose, I know God has a purpose for me and He has one for you. So I want you to join me in doing everything we do with intentionality and cheerfulness.
