What the stings in life tell us
Who here has been stung by a hornet? Me! Twice actually. Five minutes apart. I was staining my deck last year and one flew right up my Nike shorts and stung me on my butt. It was as if someone took a hotdog poker and stabbed me in the rear. Awful pain! I just may have had to ask God for forgiveness for the expletives that came out of my mouth that day. Just maybe.
After about a 5-minute icing, I decided I needed to head out and finish the staining before it started to dry up. You would have thought that I would have done a little further inspection first, considering the pain I was in, but I had in my head that wasps go and die after they sting you (is this just something someone made up? Like the free sucker scam from finding an Indian shooting the star on the tootsie pop wrapper?). So, imagine my shock when once again, I was stabbed in the butt. Only this time, it flew further up my cheek. These weren’t like baggy shorts I was wearing either. Somehow this sneaky devil flew straight up my shorts almost to the waist band and attacked. It sucked bad! Not just the pain, but I literally grew a third bun from the swelling. It wasn’t pretty!
So, imagine how I felt today when I was sitting out on the couch on my deck and heard buzzing behind my head. Shear terror! I thought for sure he was back, but I couldn’t be sure, because it sounded like it could have also been a large fly. Trouble was, every time I would turn around, the bug would disappear. I couldn’t find the little sucker to get a good look at him.
This game proceeded for at least 5 mins. I would hear buzzing, turn around, gone. Repeat.
You’d think I would head inside considering the danger, but it’s a gorgeous day out! I didn’t want to give up my perch if it was just a horsefly horsin’ around with me (pun intended)! So yes, I put up with this buzzing behind my head and disappearing act for at least 5 mins.
Until I finally realized what was going on. He was trapped in the wicker couch that my butt was sitting on. I couldn’t see him there, but I could hear him inside it. So, I did the smart thing. I tipped the couch over and set him free. He flew away so fast, I still wasn’t able to get a good look at what the heck he was.
So, what’s my point, right?
Well, this bug got me thinking about a few things.
1. Anxiety
He got me thinking about my anxieties. And maybe just anxieties all together. Anxiety is really about fearing things that we can’t see. It’s fearing that something dangerous to our lives is lurking, even though we have no proof that the danger even exists. I can’t tell you how many times this scenario has happened to me. I convince myself that the worst possible scenario is happening, and I eventually discover that the scenario is harmless. I’m sure this happens to plenty of you as well.
This happens to me with my health. Ask my people…they will tell you I’m a total hypochondriac. But I’m not a hypo because I’m making up symptoms that don’t exist, because they do. I’m a hypo because I’m choosing to believe that the reason for my symptoms is the worst possible scenario. Why? Good question. God’s been telling me “You’re not dying, it just has to be figured out” for a few years now. Why not just rely on that Truth from God instead of that lie from Satan? It sure would be a whole lot easier wouldn’t it? My anxiety is my paralysis. But at least I recognize that. It’s a work in progress, but I’m confident I’ll get there.
2. Freedom
Imagine how that bug felt being trapped inside the couch! He was freaking out! In his mind he was certain that there was no way out! His life was over!
So yeah. We’ve been there. We might be there right now. We have all felt trapped in situations in our lives and have struggled to find our own way out. We’ve all been stuck and freaking out about it.
Sure, this bug may have eventually found his own way to set himself free, but it wasn’t about to happen anytime soon. Instead, he got smart and found someone to free him. I'm sure it made it a whole lot easier for him.
We have that same option. God is here to rescue us and to free us when we feel trapped. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, he is always here to help us. We don’t have to buzz around tirelessly trying to find our way. We just have to turn to God and he will help us find our way to freedom.
3. Protection
Ok, so there is more to the story than I’ve shared so far. As I was sitting there writing the first part of this story, the buzzing returned. To the same spot. There’s a lesson here about how we can find ourselves in the same struggles and repeat our mistakes like this bug, but I’m going to focus back on my perspective and not the bugs, because this is the most important.
Remember the beginning of this story? What I was really afraid of? It was a hornet. I was afraid that this buzzing was, in fact, my mortal enemy waiting to stab me with a hotdog poker.
Well, turns out, it was him. Or another version of him (Unless they live through the winter? Seriously, I have some googling to do!).
Anywhooo…this little sucker was staring right back at me through the wicker with his giant hornet eyeballs. He was right by my face. We had that moment, ya know, when you come to an understanding with someone? Looking eyeball to eyeball, I looked at him and said, “nope little devil, you can’t get me, I’m protected”.
And he couldn’t get me. Just like Satan can’t get me. And if you’ve are a follower of Jesus Christ, he can’t get you either. Because God is the wicker. He is the great protector. He is our shield. When we sense danger, we don’t have to be anxious and try to fight our battles alone. We get to put on the armor of God and trust Him to lead us away from the danger.
Now off to get God’s great contribution to the world…hornet spray!
Anxiety (and my all-time fave)
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7
Freedom
“And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8-32
Protection
“The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety. He is my refuge, my savior, the one who saves me from violence. I called on the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and he saved me from my enemies.” 2 Samuel 22:1-4