Diamonds!

I debated about telling you this story but I thought it was kinda funny so I will share it with you. It takes a bit of a warped sense of humor to appreciate - see what you think.

Last weekend Sherri and I and my mom and dad headed down to Maryville Missouri to get the house ready for another school year. There was more than plenty to do as our son Jake will never be mistaken for a home improvement guy or a lawn professional. So the first line of attack was to get the yard looking good.

My dad had brought along his weed-eater and was raising Cain with the fenceline tall grasses when he suddenly came to an abrupt stop. 'Keith, come over here and look at this', he told me. I stepped over to see what he was pointing at. It was a beetle of sorts with two beautiful intricate diamond designs on his back.

'Look at that will you. Isn't creation amazing?', he said with a bit of awe in his voice.
'Absolutely dad. It's amazing see how much beauty, detail, time and attention God put into His creation. Very cool.'
And with that said dad crushed the bug as he tried to scramble away.
'Let me remind you to always take time to admire God's handiwork before you kill it.' was his final comment on the subject with a wry smile. Which just struck me as funny. Like I said, it's funny for those like me with a bit of a warped sense of humor.

But maybe squishing bugs after admiring them isn't so odd, maybe it's something we do all the time without thinking. Like admiring how cool it is to have friends and then a little later doing some gossiping about them. Or having a great experience at church, then in the afternoon swearing or using bad language for no reason. Or loving your wife so much, then being cold or heartless when it comes to those in need. We all have some bug squisher in us.

Maybe I'm trying to stretch to make a point - maybe things like this don't 'bug' you. Maybe trying to do good, wanting to do good and then not doing good and in fact doing the opposite of good - which clearly bugged the apostle Paul - seems normal to us. It shouldn't. God is calling us to fly higher, to be a beautiful new creation ourselves.

Remember the guy in the Bible who was forgiven much, then went out and wouldn't forgive little. He ended up getting tossed in the clink for life because of his bug squishing attitude. The encouragement for today is for us to live as people ever mindful of God's great gifts of forgiveness and eternal life. Enjoy life, savor creation, thank God and then pay it forward - let the bug go.

Blest Regards,
kp