Today, I think I want to be a spider.

If you suffer from arachnophobia, you may have already stopped reading this blog. Though I have a healthy respect for spiders, and don’t want them in the house, I am not afraid of them.  I usually remove them to the gardens where they are most beneficial. I have learned to identify the harmful Black Widow and the brown recluse and avoid them when possible.

Of the 46,000 different species of spiders around the world, there are only 30 who are considered dangerous to us humans, causing seven deaths a year. Maybe we shouldn’t be too afraid of these invaders living peaceably among us. Without spiders in our world, our food supply would be in trouble.

I read that spiders in the house are most useful for eliminating other insects.  In a perfect world, I wonder if we would have any insects inside.  But alas, it is not a perfect world, so we need a few spiders.

A large garden orb spider… outside… is teaching me life lessons this week; I “listen” and learn from sights and sounds around. The first night I saw my new friend spinning like crazy. I discovered this one is most likely a female as large female orb spiders usually eat their spouses after mating! Whew! Tom is glad I am not a spider!

I watched as she created a masterpiece quickly… in the dark.Early the next morning, I noticed the piece of art was gone… she had devoured the protein and moisture from the web for her survival and found a place of safety. She hides from any predator looking for her, preferring to catch it in her web later.  I have watched this scenario for days. She works tirelessly in the darkness, and shelters in a curled leaf in the day time.

Every night at dark, this spider fashions a stunning piece of work; each day it is what sustains her physically while she rests secure.

I am as fascinated with the result of her night’s achievement as I am of her resolve to stay put in a crisis.  The web was flawless, constructed with purpose for her survival in the night.  Analogies do break down… I don’t want to work when I am to sleep…

But am I productive in the darkness? The darkness invading much of the culture these days surely allows me… and you… to transform our surroundings into something beautiful.  If we are anchored.

One early morning, I loosened, no, I pulled most of the anchors holding her web… she never flinched from her resting place.

Various species of spiders have many differences, but they all spin silk. This silk is one of the strongest materials in the world; it can support a weight of up to 10,000 x its own weight, and has been used for everything from airplane wings to surgical sutures. There are seven kinds of silk, but I want to focus on the dragline type.

Dragline silk is used for anchors, for building the web, for forming cocoons, for flying… spider flying, that is. Yes, they have been known to cast off and propel for miles. Compared to super-glue, dragline silk has been known to stop a bullet.

Wow, their anchor line is very strong!

I really don’t want to be a spider, but what a strong lesson for me as I watched her stand fearlessly when danger approached.

A gentle whisper, “You must be like this spider… have the strength to hold on, no matter the winds blowing around you and your family.” I have to intentionally listen. Yes, yes. “We have this hope, (this Jesus as the light of the world… my words in italics) as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure.” Hebrews 6: 19

I stood by the tree, the wind whipping the leaf to and fro, affirmed in the gentle reminder, “I am your hiding place; I will protect you from trouble and surround you with songs of deliverance.” Psalm 32:7

… snug and anchored…