The Ugly, Creepy, and Yucky
As a child, I enjoyed playing with doodle bugs aka roly-polies. They were harmless, but, here where I live, they are annoying. They are found creeping along in our breezeways and even carpeted areas. I saw our community’s housekeeper sweeping them into her dustpan, saying “Yuck!”
Annoyances. Aggravations. Those little bugs are trying to take over our space. I don’t know why they come in because they are “dirt” bugs! But a few days ago, one of our residents gave us an eye-opening lesson.
The actual name of those creatures is Oniscidae. We may find them under a brick or a damp object (and our floors). We may have felt disgusted and wondered why God even created such a nuisance. But He always has a reason.
The Oniscidae is a subgroup of isopod crustaceans whose function is to remove harmful heavy metals from the earth such as mercury, cadmium, and lead. They contribute to the cleansing of soil and groundwater. Don’t damage them by spraying pesticides!
Regardless of their creepy crawly characteristics, the roly-poly is guaranteed to help “purify” your garden soil if you let them.
You’re welcome! It makes perfect sense — especially when we consider the wonder of all of God’s creation as being good. That’s what is said in the Book of Genesis. On each day of creation “God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25). And then, on the sixth day of creation when He created humanity, He saw that it was VERY GOOD!
But if it is all good, why is so much of it just so… gross? It’s easy to find God in the beautiful parts of creation, but I’ve learned that even the gross things like bugs and creepy-crawly creatures can teach us about God. What is gross to us, could be the very thing that opens our eyes to beauty – like the gross caterpillar that turns into a butterfly.
The saying “Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder” must be how God sees us. He sees beauty and usefulness in us!
The moms whose seniors just graduated and are leaving home to go to college may feel that her usefulness is over. And, speaking of “seniors” — those of us in our “senior” years, may feel the best of our lives are over, too!
But DON’T GO THERE! As long as there is breath in our bodies, we have purpose. We are packed full of promise and possibilities! We have a wealth of knowledge. I’m OK with aging, but I refuse to act old. I will laugh….a lot! I will be thankful for life still on this side of heaven. I refuse grumpydom!
Psalm 92:14 says “They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green!” I’m counting on that!
Funny thing, I’m discovering that when I look up close to what I see as ugly in my life, and I examine the fabric – the loose ends, the tangled fringe, the discolored areas, and torn threads – I see beautiful! Like the dead flowers left too long in a vase, I remember the precious gift from my friend. Even when I see my laundry basket overflowing, I remember the rich full family weekend. The ugly changes to beautiful!
I can’t help but wonder “Does the ugly in my life look beautiful to God?” Is that why God stays so close to us? Lord, help us to be so close to You, that we are your BEAUTIFUL hands and feet on this earth – being difference makers in our world!