Undetected Appearances

      Ticks are icky.  I’m just stating the obvious. I definitely do not understand the reason the Lord created them, but I can assure you that imbedding themselves into my belly gives no purpose to their existence.  You know, all my life I’ve managed to escape the bite of these gross tiny creatures until this past month.  I’ve just encountered a wood tick eating my stomach again this morning, and I’m not a happy camper.  In fact in all my times of camping and even playing in the woods of New Jersey as a kid, I never found one on me.  Why do ticks seem to have craving for me now?

     Could it be the extra tummy fat that I’ve accumulated over the last several years?  I suppose if they actually ate my extra pounds away, I might consider letting them stay.  Alas, ridding my body of its extra weight is not their agenda.  However, maybe their desire to eat me should motivate me to lose weight, if I could actually prove it’s their reason for making their way in my direction.

     In reality, not too many things freak me out the way snakes, mice, and ticks on my tummy do.  I would have provided you with a photo for the added entertainment to this little tale, but that would have meant jumping out of the shower to grab my camera.  It also would have required leaving him on me while I snapped the picture of him enjoying his feast.  In the end, I’m pretty sure you appreciate that I kept this particular picture to myself.

     The truth be known, I found little humor regarding this tick in the moment of my discovery.  I was too freaked out and yanked him off me as quickly as I could wrap my two fingernails around his measly little body.  Yet I wonder how long this disgusting creature enjoyed his banquet table.  He may have savored the flavor of me all night or maybe he only arrived an hour earlier when I had walked the dog.  What I do know is that his presence remained hidden until my shower. I assume the best way to prevent the invasion of these horrible critters would be to lather my body with bug repellent before venturing outside again.

     My battle with the ticks this summer reminds me of the way the enemy crawls undetected into our lives.  Often times we miss the subtle steps in which he encroaches and snags us into his lies. When we extend too much freedom to him, he infects our heart with his distorted view of the Lord, others, and life in general.  Unfortunately, when we finally awaken to the truth, the damage can be quite extensive.

     The best way to prevent any discrepancy with the truth is for us to honestly evaluate our thoughts, words, and deeds in light of Scripture.  We need to ask the Lord to reveal to us any way we might be quenching the Holy Spirit, and we must choose to submit to His way of doing things.  Put on your armor and let us rid our lives of these invaders!