Busy As Ants

“As boring as watching ants,” the saying goes. I believe the person who created this saying has never watched ants. Have you? They are fascinating.

I was weeding the other day and came across an ant bed. As I paused to watch them I was struck by how busy they were, each one doing their own thing, not caring what the other ants were up to. They seemed to be driven by a natural instinct to forge ahead no matter what obstacles were laid before them. To test this theory, I created a large log barrier in their path, and without missing a step they discovered ways around the obstacle. They continued in their pursuit of food and other things, which they dutifully carried into their home. God wants us to be more like ants, dutifully carrying out our jobs in spite of the obstacles that may come our way.

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Hidden but Known

Whatever is done in secret, the saying goes, will be shouted from the rooftops. During the recent corporate scandals, many found out that what they thought were hidden in boardrooms, conference rooms, and smoke-filled rooms on Wall Street, were not. Sure they rode the wave, until that wave came crashing in around them. Many of us have said, “They deserve whatever they get.” But if we are honest, we know we’ve done the same thing.

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Busybodies

What was your first job? Mine was at a coffee shop. I sold coffee beans and cups of coffee and cappuccinos. I loved that job. My boss was a terrific lady and I enjoyed helping people find just the right coffee for their tastes. There was always something to do, like redesigning store displays, packaging and shipping orders, or tidying up the store when we weren’t busy. At this first job I also had my first encounter with a lazy co-worker. This co-worker was certainly busy. She was busy talking and it seemed she knew everything about everyone. The Bible calls these people busybodies, and cautions us about spending too much time with them.

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Embarrassing Gas

Today when I left the house on my way to pick up editors from the airport for the Florida Christian Writers Conference, I stopped by to get gas. I was running a little late so hoped the pumps were extra fast. When I jumped out of the car, the wind nearly knocked me over. So, rather than let my hair get whipped into a nest, I decided to flip down that little lock on the pump handle that allows me to leave the nozzle pumping while I go sit in the car. The pump stopped and I jumped out and yanked the nozzle out of the car- you guessed it- without releasing the lock.

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Doing Good

There is no job more important or more difficult than being a parent. Several reasons come to mind for this, but one of the biggest is that children are with you 24/7. They see you at your best and your worst. They see the public you and the private. When it gets down to it, they see whether you give lip service to your Christian faith or if you practice what you preach. And it isn’t the big things that matter to children. It is those little choices, the things that most people would write off as just being human. These little things also matter to God. In fact, the Bible spells them out.

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