ANTSY

Bathroom visitors...what were
they hungry for? Toothpaste?

 "Antsy”--the word means “restless, fidgety”--and we were definitely restless and fidgety a few weeks ago when they swarmed into the kitchen. Not two by two, either. Total battleground. We didn't stop to count them but grabbed the spray and poison disks to declare war on these minuscule black critters. It was my fault 😕. I had left on the counter a little ceramic honey dispenser shaped like a bear, with a slot for the serving twirler stick. It wasn't air tight. Or ant tight. What's that saying, “If you build it, they will come”? In our case, it was, “If you leave it out, they will come!” Not just the kitchen, either. They found their way to the bathroom, where I quickly left the poison disk to satisfy their appetites. “Be sure to take some goodies back to your queen,” I told them—not that they heard. As retirees who try to be thrifty, we tend to be do-it-yourself folks. The $70 professional spray is a hunk of money (which rhymes with "honey"). So we decided to do chemical battle and sanitize anything that might have had a scent of "follow me to the golden pot." A few days later, the battle was pretty much over.

I was amused by a recent public television show that featured people (bug scientists) who make a big deal out of ants. They love going to remote places where ants build condos taller than a person. They revel in the organizational abilities of ants—all somehow built into their DNA by our Creator God. No wonder they garnered commendation in Proverbs 30:24-38 with some other animals. “Cronies” (rock badgers) were praised for wise building, locusts for cooperation, and lizards about fearlessness. And ants, praised for their innate sense of preparation: “Ants are creatures of strength, yet they store up their food in the summer” (v. 25). Ants also got proverbial “ink” in chapter 6:

Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores in provisions in summer, and gathers its food at harvest. (vv. 6-7)

That observation is followed by a rebuke to the “sluggard” to get with it! If tiny, seemingly insignificant ants scurry about with this internal work ethic without a boss man nearby—getting ready for the lean feeding times of winter—can we do less when God calls us to excellence in our tasks? Another commentator remarked about how ants carry loads far bigger than they are. I've witnessed that, too—and the lesson for me was 1 Peter 5:7: “Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you.” When my daily burdens—concern for others, the daily drudge of life's tasks, health challenges and other things that “weigh on me”--get me down, well, God waits to carry that burden for me.

My scripture reading during this pandemic has repeatedly taken me to verses that I memorized or meditated on in previous times of trials. As they encourage or instruct me again, I find myself saying, “Thanks for the reminder, Lord.” I'm glad I “stored up” that spiritual food for these times when pandemic fears nibble at my faith.

“Look to the ant”?--oh yes. Except when they pollute my honey jar....