The Ant

I have a few plants on my dining room window sill which have been thriving through haphazard care and regular neglect ... they seem to like it there.

I have noticed this week that rather than quietly crack on with being healthy, glossy and growing, they have wilted and taken on an odd hue, particularly one of them.

I finally managed to get past all the colouring and craft that has mounded up from my daughters diligent commitment, to reach the window sill and investigate. I had noticed a couple of ants here and there but had paid no attention ... we hadn't had rain for a while until this week, so I just presumed they'd come in seeking moisture and would soon be gone again. I didn't really expect the full frontal attack of my plants by a colony of ants! Greedy little blighters.

It did remind me of the verse in Proverbs though ..."go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest" (6v6-8).

Kinda makes you smile doesn't it? Yes it's annoying that they chose my house and plants this time, but you've got to give them credit for all the effort they take to provide for their colony ... working in little armies, dutifully following rank and fulfilling their roles ... non stop, always busy. You can't fault them for being industrious and productive.

The Proverbs passage is warning against slothfulness and laziness ... too much slumbering which will ultimately bring about poverty. So by inference, we are encouraged to be wise like the ant, preparing for our needs and using our resources to provide.

I agree with the saying that if God wants a job done, He'll find a busy person to do it. I don't think it's about being busy for the sake of being busy, or busy to the point of exhaustion and performance related appearance, but more about a state of mind and eagerness to pull our weight to provide for our needs and those around us in the way that God has gifted us to do. It's not a comparison or competition, it's about knowing and fulfilling our roles and then to continue in them with the right attitude of heart and mind ... seeking God's glory and the best interest of others.

So next time you see an ant, just pause and watch it and it's fellows for a while ... be curious and consider them ... learn and be wise.

I love the fact that God can use these tiny creatures to teach us things ... He cares about all of creation and made everything so specifically for a purpose, designed so intricately ... fine wired, just to be what it is ... in this case, an ant.

Ingrid x