We regularly have visitors in the house at night...
Crickets crawl out of who knows where and run rampant all over the house. Thankfully, their singing doesn't seem to disturb anyone's sleep because they get really loud.
For 9 months now, there always seems to be one living between the pantry closet and the kitchen counter - no way for me to get to him for a catch and release rescue - and he likes to keep me company when I'm cooking or baking early in the morning, before the rest of the house wakes up. Most of the time.... As I busy around in the kitchen he chirps and sings - unless I turn on the KitchenAid. Then he grows silent and resentful and may not chatter anymore until the next day.
At first, I thought they were crawling up from the sink and shower drains - but even when I cover them, they still show up.
Their favorite hang out seems to be the master bathroom, right off our bedroom. It is not unusual to see 10 to 15 of the little and not so little buggers running around if you make a bathroom trip at night and boy do they start chirping if you disturb their antics by flipping on the light.
Our M&M cracks me up, though, when it comes to dealing with these critters.
Someone, somewhere, told her not to mess with those crickets because if you do and they get irritated, they'll bite. Now, I've not done any research to find out who told her that or if it is actually true (I do try to avoid stepping on them, but more because that would just be gross and not because I'm worried about getting bitten), but what cracks me up is her reaction.
If she needs to make a bathroom trip during the night (and she frequently does) she begs me NOT to turn the light on. She doesn't want to know if they are there... she'd rather not see ANYTHING and assume there's no danger or problem instead of allowing the light show her where potential danger lies so she can avoid, escape or rid her world of it (with a wad of tp and a quick flush).
It is easy to chalk that up to childhood immaturity...
So what, then, do we do with the truth of the following quote?
I'm praying the Lord shows me those areas where I've been choosing to stumble around blindly in the dark because I'm afraid of what I just might see if I flip on the light.
Well, Plato's oft-time wisdom aside, I think fear of the dark and fear of the light are both tragic. They are both understandable, true, and so forgiveable, but tragic nonetheless. Fear of the dark is easy to understand because a person knows (or maybe only thinks) something is there, and wants to turn on the light to see exactly where it is. Fear of the light is similar, in that a person knows (or maybe only thinks) something is there, but they would much rather remain in the dark instead of turning on the light and confirming not only THAT it is there, but also pinpointing exactly where.
ReplyDeleteBut regardless of what is or is not there in the darkness or in the light, we can be comforted by Paul's words: "God has not given us the spirit of fear."
well, i don't think all fear is tragic -
ReplyDeleteappropriate fear of consequences is often what helps us use that spirit of self-control we've been given (refering to the same verse you quoted, which is, by the way, my life verse... :-)
appropriate fear of the Light can help grow a respect for the Lord, for "the fear of the Lord s the beginning of wisdom..."
once upon a time, many, many eons ago, i had to write on whether i believed the following quote to be true: "where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise." i don't remember what i actually wrote or my perspective as a senior in college... but that question has remained with me ever since. in general, ignorance is not a good thing, but i'm thankful the Lord hasn't decided to reveal all about even this afternoon to me yet... i have no idea of all that this day may hold and therefore, i'm able to walk forward into the day without fear or hesitation. so the answer really is... sometimes.
today, i think that sometimes we want to make things black and white that should be appropriately grey... and we try and turn things grey that should remain black and white (i.e. the marriage issue currently all over the news). there is good and bad fear of the dark... just as there is good and bad fear of the light. if ii hide from the light because i don't want it to show me how i need to change... well... as i said above... that ain't so good.
thanks for commenting, adam - we always love hearing from you. :-)