Now that I am a grandfather, I can see my children as parents and dealing with the issues of parenthood that my wife and dealt with them.
I always get excited to see pictures of my kids taking their families to vacation spots to enjoy their time together. These pictures remind me of a time I took my family to a conference at the beach.
Yes, it was a real conference. Being from the mountains, the beach has never really appealed to me. I always get sunburned, sand is everywhere, and it is too hot. However, my wife and kids wanted to go, and the chance to learn something and spend time with my family was a good idea, wherever it may be. We had a great time and met some wonderful Christian people.
However, I must be honest in my dislike for the beach.
The reason I don’t care for the beach is because I was injured one of the last times we visited. It was during the time when my kids were easily impressed by their father. The entire family was walking on the beach and I noticed a crab a few feet ahead of me.
I thought this could be a great educational moment for the kids if I could catch this varmint and show them first hand my mastery over the animal kingdom. I didn’t have anything to catch it with, so I reached down and smacked it with my hand to keep it from getting into the ocean.
The crab was stunned by my quick reflexes but was not ready to surrender. He made another attempt for the ocean but I smacked him again into a small pool of water. He didn’t run this time; he waited for my final assault.
I reached down to pick him up, thinking he had enough, and he pinched a whole in one of my fingers. I guess he didn’t like being smacked, but when you think about it, nobody likes to get smacked, not even a crab.
Within a matter of minutes my hand had swollen up twice its normal size. My wife wanted to take me to the emergency room, but I refused. I told her in no uncertain terms that I was not going to tell an emergency doctor that I was smacking around a crab and it tried to take home one of my fingers for a souvenir. Besides, it might of have been illegal to smack a crab without a good reason. After she thought about it, she agreed.
This time at the beach would be different. I had learned my lesson. I would keep my hands to myself while I walked on the beach and would only pick up seashells.
This was going well until I was walking back from the beach to our room. I felt something like a sting on the top of my foot. I have been stung by all kinds of bee’s but this sting hurt more than any in the past. When I looked down at my foot I was expecting to see some kind of big yellow bee sporting a tattoo.
What I saw was a little bitty ant. A person walking by told me a “fire ant” had just bitten me. A fire ant? Somebody in the government should change its name to the “Venom spitting-dancing ant,” because the ant had me dancing around one foot!
I guess the beach is not for me, even when I keep my hands to myself some critter finds a way to replace fun with pain. At the same time, I should watch where I walk, so I don’t walk into trouble.
This principle also holds true for our spiritual walk with Christ. When we commit our lives to Him, He is our hope and our protector in life. Psalm 33:20-21 says, “Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. For our heart rejoices in Him, because we trust in His holy name. Let thy lovingkindness, O Lord, be upon us, according as we have hoped in thee.” Even through challenging and even painful times in our lives, our victory is secured to our Lord and Savior. Amen! Remember, don’t give in to sin. Think about it!
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August 20, 2020 at 07:03AM
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Faith column: Crabs, sand and fire ants – oh my! - McDowell News
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