Friday, September 7, 2018

Caterpillar What???


Ephesians 1:7
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace.

Matthew 18:21-22
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me?  Up to seven times?
Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy times seven."

This August, an army of Orange Striped Oakworms (pictured above) take up residence in the towering oak tree whose branches arch high above our deck.  In this part of their life-cycle, eating is a constant activity, and the oak tree, it seems, provides a bountiful spread.

But as we all know, eating results in the eventual process of elimination.  That's right - caterpillar poop!




Now, these tiny pellets may look innocuous enough, even reminding us of small peppercorns.  But don't let their innocent facade fool you.  When the rain falls, and we've had a ton of precipitation this summer, these itsy-bitsy particles swell to three times their original size!  And to add insult to injury, when we go to sweep the bulbous scat off the deck, they smear, leaving behind an ugly discoloration on the wood surface.  No photo here; I'm leaving to your imagination your favorite illustration of "gross!."

It doesn't take another of these incidences for my husband, Danny, and I to sweep off the deck every chance we get.  Better to be proactive than caught off guard.

And aren't our sins rather like those dry, inert pellets?  If we don't acknowledge them promptly, running to Jesus for forgiveness, asking Him to sweep them from the decks of our hearts, they are sure to swell, fester and leave a poisonous stain on our souls.

Just as Jesus is sure to forgive us when we repent of our sins, we must be just as quick to forgive others.  If we fail to do so, as many times as the circumstances might require, we only punish ourselves.

Simple concepts.  Not easy to follow at times, but follow, we must.

And follow, we can, when we are following Jesus.

Amen!

20 comments:

  1. The thing is, Martha ... we must think outside the square. As Edward De Bono used to say, "An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea."

    What I suggest is that you wet the poop a little and spread it with a broom all over the deck. You then tell your guests that the smeared discolouration is modern art. They'll all want to do it and they'll buy the dry poop from you.

    I tried that thought when I broke a jar of tomato paste the other day. But people are set in their ways and did not accept my brilliant idea.

    However, on a serious note; I agree with your comments on sin. Good article, Martha. Thanx.

    God bless.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Victor, as I read your clever and funny comment here, I'm wondering, "Is it too early in the morning for a good laugh?" Of course not! Laughter is good, all the time!
      Thank goodness it's September, and the caterpillar season is done for now - not so with sin. May the Lord keep us on the straight and narrow path.
      Love and blessings!

      Delete
  2. Victor has a great idea! Things like this really gross me out so I appreciate your tenacity to keep cleaning up after these 'critters.'

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    1. Victor always has the best ideas, Carol! Yes, the whole situation grossed me out, too, so the sweeping was well worth it.
      Love and blessings!

      Delete
  3. I always appreciate your brilliant analogies. Amen!!

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    1. Thank you so much for your kind words, Terri. They mean a lot!
      Love and blessings!

      Delete
  4. Martha, Once again, you've painted a beautiful word picture about our sins. Our sins are truly ugly and produce a giant mess when not dealt with in a timely matter. May we all grow in our sensitivity to our sin (and even the sin around us), and that we'd confess our sins and seek forgiveness in Jesus' Name.

    Love and blessings!

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    1. Amen, Kim! Yes, our sins are an ugly stain, and we do tend to hide rather than confide. So wrong! May Jesus call us ever to bring our sins to Him and ask forgiveness.
      Love and blessings!

      Delete
  5. Wonderful analogy, peppered with humor!
    …. a lesson with which we can all identify on some level!

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    1. Peppered? Gotta love that, Myra! Yes, those sins we don't quickly admit and confess are the downfall for us, weighing us down with more unwanted "poop" than is called for. May we be quick to turn to Jesus!
      Love and blessings!

      Delete
  6. Sin left untended becomes (word deleted by me). I'll substitute yours...poop. And stinky. And nasty. And noxious. Great analogy Martha. Caterpillars or spider webs. not sure which would be my worst nightmare. We already have the spiders.

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    1. So pleased you liked the analogy, Bill. Yes - stinky, nasty and noxious are great adjectives to describe sin. Let Jesus cleanse us from top to bottom!
      Love and blessings!

      Delete
  7. you make me smile. Caterpillar poop with a spiritual lesson. WOW!

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    1. Glad the analogy amused you, Jean! These kind of ideas come when I'm being attentive to the moment. Seems like we discussed that practice not so long ago. LOL!
      Love and blessings!

      Delete
  8. Wow...what a great lesson from nature, God's creation...applied to our own hearts...you have a gift for that, my dear friend. Thank you for this lesson, however "poopy" it may have been...it made its "mark" on my heart!!

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    1. Lol, Pam, great puns you've used here! And thank you for your kind words about my analogies. It seems I can't help it. I do so appreciate the gift God has given me.
      Love and blessings!

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  9. I love your posts and everything looks wonderful. I love your idea thanks for sharing.
    หนังออนไลน์

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  10. Oh this is so gross but so good!! LOL! I loved reading this!!

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    Replies
    1. I'm glad you enjoyed this, Marla, despite the gross aspect - lol!
      Love and blessings!

      Delete

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