God's Grace As Evidenced to Me

Ok, so this picture is nasty in more ways than one. But I just have to share, because I feel it's a perfect picture of God's grace in my life. (Quit laughing and hear me out!)

We have these sticky traps all over the house, left over from our cockroach invasion (which, btw, may be starting again... I found one the other day, but only one. scary!). One of the traps resides behind our toilet. One evening I thought the trap looked strange -- like something large and brown was in it. I figured one of my hair clips had fallen and gotten stuck. I bent down to "grab my hair clip" -- and saw THAT.

Naturally, I burst into tears and yelled for Wes, who had no clue what was going on. He rescued me (my hero!) and snapped a few pictures of the tarantula jumping grasshopper or whatever it was (tarantula).

*Before I continue, I feel the need to note that it was much bigger than it looks in that picture.

Anyway, he put the whole thing in a plastic baggie and asked me where I wanted him to put it. I instructed him to put it "where I wouldn't find it" until I could have the maintenance guys come and look at it and tell me what it was and HOW IT POSSIBLY GAINED ACCESS TO MY APARTMENT. He refused, saying that I needed to know where it was in order not to run into it. But the thought of it sitting anywhere in our apartment just totally creeped me out. And yes, I KNOW it was stuck on a sticky trap and about to die of suffocation. Thank you.

So, thanks to my new job, I used my trusty master key and put it in the vacant apartment across the hall. The maintenance guys laughed me out of the office the next day after finding out I was scared of a "harmless grasshopper stuck in a trap." I asked them to make sure there were no other tarantulas in my apartment, but they ignored me. I asked them where it came from; they ignored me.

Friends, when it comes to bugs in my house, this is what I want need to know:

1. Where did they come from;
2. Are there more coming;
3. How can I use the knowledge gained from #1 to make sure #2 doesn't happen??

I still don't know where it came from, but I'm hoping I don't find any more!

Here's the moral of the story: despite how upset I was about finding the tarantula that night, I couldn't help but praise God from the depths of my soul. He had it crawl on the sticky trap! The one I almost removed after not finding a cockroach for so long! Of all of the places it could've been -- it was on a sticky trap! (Did I mention that already?) Thank you, Jesus.

I give my bathroom a once-over with my eyes before entering now. I always check the sticky trap. But seeing those traps now, empty or full, cause me to praise the living God. I mean it! He is so faithful to bring us good, even out of bad things (yes, bugs count). He takes care of me and is kind to me even with regard to my silly fears. I serve a great God.


I sought the Lord, and He answered me;
He delivered me from all my fears.
-Psalm 34:4