Attack of the 8-legged Beast

April: 
Be a Child of God- "Let's just go ahead and be what we were made to be, without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other, or trying to be something we aren't." Verse 6



Step One: I ain't scared.  
Step Two: Quit Comparing. 
Step Three: Be Real.  
Step Four: Keep the Faith.  


I sat, teaching about a surely important subject, using my projector.  Twenty-two children plunked down, cross legged on our speckled classroom carpet, ears perked and listening.  They fixed their eyes on the stark white screen projected with pictures and words for their learning.  As I rambled on, I noticed a stirring within them. My inner teacher reacted quickly in a scolding fashion, reminding them, yet again, that it was important to pay attention.  


I noticed a shift in their eyes from the projector to the ceiling, and back again.  I followed their gaze toward the projector, and dancing on the screen was a three foot, blurry, eight-legged creature-- or, it's shadow.  I brought my eyes to the ceiling, worried and nervous about what I would find.  And, to my comical relief, a tiny spider dangled in front of the projector lens, blinded from the light no doubt.  


In stunned confusion, the spider dropped, as if on mission impossible, using its silk.  He sank smack dab in the middle of my pod of children, and hung right above their heads.  


Giggles, shrieks, and movement happened all at once.  Finally, a little girl grabbed the silk string and walked the spider out the door, saving us from the eight-legged beast.  


Although it took us quite a while to revert to normal learning behaviors, I had to laugh at the absurdity of it all.  The tiniest of spiders appeared large and ferocious in what turned out to be an allusion.  


April's goal is to be a child of God.  I think it's appropriate to make step one: I ain't scared.  I think there's a great deal of fear involved when considering to bare your soul to others. We are afraid of what image will be projected of us-- a larger, hairier, not-exactly-accurate version of ourselves. And our faith.  


In order to be a child of God, I need to let go of the world's web that entangles us in doubt, fear, and rejection.  I need to be confident in my status as a child of God.  It is my identity.