The Lord spoke to me through a tick.
Ok ok...before you start calling the "Animal Prophecy Police," he didn't actually open up his nasty little mouth and start spouting scripture. I work in an area that is surrounded by lots of woods. I'm not a super girly girl by any means, but I'm also not a fan of bugs...especially ones that try to suck your life away.
A few weeks ago I was in a staff meeting on a typical Monday morning. I was chatting with a coworker when her eyes widened as she stared at me and said, "That's a tick...that's a tick on your forehead!" My initial thought in that moment was how in the world I didn't notice a tick that was supposedly latched onto my FACE...I mean how did I miss that?! Then I felt it crawling...it was crawling down towards my eye...*insert second thought bubble*...it's not latched yet so that's great...but now it's crawling and I can feel its little legs crawling...this is so gross...it's crawling on my face...towards my eye...I wonder if ticks can latch onto eyeballs...this is gonna be the cover story on Nat Geo about the girl who got attacked by the eye-eating tick. I snapped back into reality and my first instinct was to swat it off, so I did. It landed on my dress and another coworker grabbed it with a napkin, and it was over. Just like that, it was over. Needless to say, I survived...although the state of my emotional well-being was a different story.
I'm grateful for my very observant coworker that spotted the tick in the first place, I'm thankful for another coworker that comforted me as I was panicking, and I'm indebted to another coworker who wasn't afraid to jump in there and kill that thing once and for all! I needed my friends that day, because I couldn't see the danger that was lurking because it was so close to me. I didn't see it at first, and I didn't feel it at first. Isn't that also true in our spiritual walk? Now this is where God is so cool, how He can relate any situation to our spiritual journeys! Or maybe that's just me and my creative mind...either way, Holy Spirit totally gets all the credit!
I needed my friend to notice the tick in the first place, just like I need a friend to warn me of some impending danger that may be lurking. "Hey, there's a tick on your forehead." Hey, that choice is probably not the best choice." "Hey, are you sure that's a good idea?" "Hey, I'm trying to warn you of this sin, this soul tie, this bondage, this pain, this hurt, this heartache BEFORE it latches on to you and requires a lot more work to get off." I also needed that friend that comforted me, just like I need a friend to comfort me sometimes. See what I did there? This one's pretty self-explanatory...we are all going to go through some difficult times in our lives, and it is crucial that we surround ourselves with people who love us unconditionally and are always there with some reassuring words or a shoulder to cry on. Lastly, I needed that friend who went straight in for the kill, just like I need a friend who will fight with me and for me during my spiritual battles.
Sidenote: Fast forward to a few days later and I was able to warn the same coworker that warned me that there was a tick crawling on her shirt! I flicked it off like it was no biggie, BECAUSE I had survived my very own tick incident. Every time we go through something difficult, we must remember that someone in the future will need to hear that story. The Lord gives us testimonies for a reason. Someone someday will need you just like you may need someone today.
We are created for community. We are meant to do life together. Identify who your "people" are!
Oh, and next time you wanna teach me a lesson Lord....can you use a puppy?
