Send In the Ants

In the past few days we've dealt with some unwelcomed guests in our home. They don't make a lot of noise nor do they raid the fridge or drool on our pillows, but the annoyance level and ick factor compel us to action.

I'm talking about carpenter ants. Now, I'm not crazy about them, mind you, but my wife absolutely can not stand them! I'm more of the mindset that if you ignore them they might go away. My wife realizes this is preposterous thinking and that something must be done right away if not sooner. I wasn't at home when she saw one of the monsters on our kitchen counter the other day, but from my office a few blocks away I did hear the scream she let out.

Apparently my casual approach to resolving the situation was not acceptable, so when she observed another one yesterday morning - that was it! And men, when that's it, it's already too late!

I was busily preparing for a meeting and trying to work through the myriad details related to a very soon approaching mission trip, while also keeping an eye on a youth retreat this weekend, while also squeezing in sermon preparation for Sunday, while also - well, you get the idea. That's when the call came in. There was an unmistakeable urgency in the caller's voice with an undeniable call to action. And if I didn't respond immediately to the report then, um, it would have been bad.

So off to hardware store for some ant spray after arriving home and receiving my assignment. Completing this phase of the mission I returned to the scene of investigation ready to ward off the enemy creatures. But first - there would need to be some removing of wood chips in our front landscaping. I hadn't thought about this opportunity to serve and protect. Actually, it wasn't on my schedule to take the afternoon off in the middle of my very, very important and precious planning and preparation time to shovel and remove said wood chips prior to zapping the adversary with the liquid weaponry.

Regrettably, my attitude about the events that were presently transpiring reflected poorly on my role as a husband. In other words, I wasn't very happy about it, and it showed. Too bad, because I missed a good opportunity to display the love of Christ to my wife. That's the kind of love husbands are to show for their sweethearts - the kind that Jesus demonstrated when He gave up His life for the church. I sure wasn't happily giving up myself for my bride.

It took a few minutes (OK, about a half hour) for me to realize this, and to muster up the humility to confess my selfishness (sin) and seek forgiveness. Let me just say that I'm so thankful for a wife who does forgive. Otherwise I don't think they make a doghouse comfortable enough for my permanent residence.

Now I'm coming to the point of the story - thanks for hanging with me! It's funny that as I was preparing for this mission trip meeting, one of the things I wanted to emphasize is our need to be flexible on the field. Yeah, flexible. We can plan and prepare and think we've got a pretty good idea of what's expected of us, what we'll be doing, what things will be like, but guess what. I have a feeling that we're going to need to be rubber bands. Flexible. Ready to stretch out.

I got a bad check-up on my flexibility scan yesterday. Maybe the Lord sent the ants to test my heart. I still have an overwhelming amount of work to do, but I'm trusting in confidence that God's got it all under control.

"Lord, here am I. Send in the ants if that's what it takes to mold me into the image of Jesus. Break me, melt me, fill me, use me - or better said, make me useable - for Your glory - for Your kingdom." Amen.