New Beginnings

 

I was sitting on the step of our deck the other day just getting some fresh air.  An ant was scurrying around where I was sitting, so I brushed him off into the grass.

A minute later, looking down, I saw what I assumed to be the ant I brushed away, working his way through the grass.  I started wondering, “Is this the same ant?  Will he try to work his way back to the step?  Are ants that aware of their surroundings?  Do they even have eyes, or just feelers?”

Yes, that’s the way my brain works.  So, as I am sure you are already aware, I had to look up ants on the Internet.  I swear there is not a rabbit hole I won’t go down.

So let’s get this out of the way.  My question about whether they have eyes is not as stupid as you might have thought.  Some don’t, but most do.  But the dumbest question I found online that I thought surely topped my eyes question, was this:

“Do ants count their steps?”

Huh? (I’ll bet you are picturing an ant with a tiny fit bit on its leg right now, aren’t you?  Admit it.)

Turns out the desert ant may have an internal system, “like a pedometer,” that does keep track of the number of steps it takes!  It can actually help them find their way back to their nest. 

But I digress.

All of this is to say that while ants usually have blurred vision, they can follow their chemical trail and use their feelers, so I’m guessing my ant did track back to the deck step.

We, too, like the ant relying on its nature to return to its nest, have an innate desire for God.  We were created for God and within us there exists an intangible connection between us that draws us to him.  When things go haywire and we deny or try to resist it, there occurs increased tension within.

This is never healthy for us.

Many try to deny this innate desire, but doing so just causes us a great deal of pain and restlessness that can only be relieved by our acceptance and submission to it.  It is not something we fabricated; it’s just who we are as “creatures” of God.

Maybe you, or someone you know, is unsettled and getting the sense that there is something more “out there” that can bring peace and joy into life.

Honestly, there is.

If an ant with blurry vision (some of them are actually blind!), climbing over blades of grass, can find its way back to its beginnings, shouldn’t we be able to as well?

God isn't hiding.  He's not hard to find.  You just need to be willing to look.

Janet Cassidy
janetcassidy.blogspot.com