Someone or Somebody

Posted on by Fred D

Today our nation celebrated the National Day of Prayer. The theme was Unity.

Yesterday I emailed some folks this picture of an itsy-bitsy spider on a web it had spun above a dew-drenched flower. Zooming in diffused the background creating a weird, psychedelic effect.

The National Day of Prayer theme of Unity, and the diametrically opposed spider pic responses got me to a-pondering . . . bear with me . . . I warned you I’m a tad weird😊

Spider pic responses were of two categories. Arachnophobes saw a ‘yucky’ spider, artisans a ‘pretty’ picture. Personally, I’m a weird hybrid . . . a rapid-squash-art enthusiast😊

Truth be known, we all have our ‘yucks’ and ‘prettys’. Here’s a couple of shortlists to a-ponder:

Chevy/Ford…City/Country…Warm/Cold…Mountains/Oceans…Classical/Rock…Steak/Salad… Costco/Sam’s Club…Pepsi/Coke…Tennessee/Alaska (couldn’t resist 😊), etc. … not issues worth dying for.

But, what about the other Homo–sapiens we share this planet with? Have any personal ‘yucks’ and ‘prettys’ on this list?:

Christian/Jew…Mexican/American…White/Black…Democrat/Republican…Alcoholic/Sober…Felon/Free…Welfare/Wealthy…Pro_____/ Pro_____, etc. … sadly these are issues people are dying for . . . needlessly.

Truth be known, I’ve had my ‘yucks’ on this list (remember, it’s my list), and still struggle with them at times. It’s only by God’s amazing grace that this chief of ‘yucks’ has been forgiven and forever loved . . . just as I am, not as I should be.

Knowing that, and privilege eight decades has afforded me to personally get to know each genre of individual on the Homo–sapiens list above, has gradually transformed my contentious ‘yucks’ into compassionate ‘prettys’, regardless of how they may consider me.  

I’ve learned (and still am) to see the Someone . . . a unique, one-of-a-kind individual created in the image of God  . . . behind each Somebody.

At the risk of appearing Pollyannaish, what if, on our journey through this impersonal, materialistic divisive world, we would strive to truly recognize the unique human being in every Someone behind the Somebody? . . . Difficult? Challenging? You bet! . . . but I can’t help but believe the theme of today’s National Day of Prayer . . . Unity . . . would engulf our nation, and the world.

“…Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself…”

Matthew 29:39

Thanks for taking time to ruminate my ramblings. Be Blessed, and . . .

Keep Looking Up . . . His Best is Yet to Come!

Spider Stats

Posted on by Fred D

Garden Spider

With over a million different kinds, insects represent the most numerous of all life forms on earth. I grateful the Creator gave them exoskeletons to lug around and considerably limit their size. Had they endoskeletons like us, we’d be impossibly outnumbered, tripping over ants, swatting mosquitoes with baseball bats, and Orkin exterminators would be packing, wearing Kevlar vests.

I’m appreciate all insect predators . . . colorful birds, furry anteaters, slimy frogs, even spooky bats to assist keeping the ever-burgeoning insect population in check . . . but wonder why God saw fit add scary spiders to help keep insects from ‘bugging’ us 😊

This morning, a Garden Spider gained a modicum of my respect. The intricate, geometrically designed web this little 8-legged architect had constructed altered my perspective of these creepy creatures. Patiently waiting to ambush and chow down on some savory insect, I realized this tiny guy (girl?) is actually my ally, possibly sparing me a future mosquito bite 😍

Sooooo . . . with that renewed mindset, here’s a ½ dozen Spider Stats to lend a favorable ‘spin’ for any arachnophobes out there, with one caveat . . . spiders still can bite Ya’ 😫

  1. Webs of Steel – for size, the silk strands of a spider’s web are far stronger than steel!
  2. Custom Designing – Most spiders have 3 spinnerets that extrude silk which dries when exposed to the air as they build their webs. Some have up to 8 spinnerets for different thread sizes. The spider controls the thread’s thickness, texture, and adhesiveness as it’s drawn from the spinnerets depending on the thread’s intended purpose.
  3. Web Recycling – each night the spider eats most of its web, leaving the primary frame to re-weave a new circular web each morning. It’s believed spiders eat their webs to recycle nutrients and consume small food particles . . . Yummy! 🤪
  4. Here’s Looking at You – most spiders have eight eyes. However, some species have six, four, two, or even no eyes. Even within a single species, the number of eyes may vary, but it’s always an even number.
  5. Cautious Courtship – at breeding time the male carefully ventures into the female’s nest, and then plucks the strands of her web to entice her. Before mating, he drops a safety web so that he can escape should he ‘strike a wrong note’, and she decides to cannibalize him 😲
  6. Venomous, but not Dangerous – like most spiders, Garden Spiders have venom to incapacitate their prey. However, their venom is not harmful humans.

“All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small, all things wise and wonderful, the Lord God made them all.”

Cecil Frances Alexander