Peculiar but Not Strange
Last weekend my husband and I were working in the yard trying to give our shrubs and trees a little love before the Fall season sets in. Not being a big outdoors person, except for loving walks in the woods to soak in all of nature's beauty, I cautiously did my part while keeping my eye out for spiders, wasps, crickets, and all the other jumping creepy things that make me jittery. To say that I don't like bugs would be an understatement, but I do know they have a necessary place in this world. I've learned to live near them although they are not welcome inside my home under any circumstances. LOL
So, it was time to go over to the other side of the driveway to give the little "circle of shrubs" some TLC and that's when I noticed something I had NEVER EVER EVER seen in my ENTIRE life. As you can see from the picture, it looked quite strange and different. There were actually a few of them sticking up from the mulch, and if you look closely, you will see that they had company. The company they kept represented the one bug that I detest the most...FLIES! I absolutely, emphatically detest flies because they are absolutely disgusting. Now that you feel me, you know that I began to wonder what kind of plant or growth would attract a fly? I mean we all know what typically attracts them, and other than our picnic food, it is the recycled food that they love the most. In other words, they crave stuff that stinks! So I IMMEDIATELY knew that if flies were attracted to this thing in the mulch, then it had to be something absolutely nasty too.
Thoughts about what Maya Angelo told us about "when people show us who they are, believe them" began to swarm in my mind. So straight to the internet I went to seek and search out what this strange thing was. Minutes later I discovered that it is called a "Stinkhorn" and is a species of fungi or mushroom that strategically attracts flies so that it can spread. It lures the flies with the "doo-doo-like" foul-smelling sticky gook for dispersement purposes only. Again...how cunning and DISGUSTING!
But then, you know this simply brought me to a spiritual revelation about just how cunning the devil is. He is colorful, intriguing, and has things to offer that look attractive...until you get up close! By then, you are already stuck to his sinful habits and the next thing you know, you are spreading his mess to other innocent victims. When you think about it, you shouldn't want ANYTHING to do with him or his enticements because they will always lead you farther away from the Lord and everybody will know who you've been entertaining because you will have the smell of being in his presence.
When reading more about this fungi, it actually says that they are short lived and can serve some good. I am glad to know that fact. I'm glad to know that the devil's time is short and that he reminds me of just how GOOD GOD IS in my life. It reminds me to stay close to Jesus and be known by the sweet-smelling savor that I share with the world. Yes, we are peculiar people that men should know by our love towards one another. But if we choose to become strange, rather than peculiar, then we will end up being dug up from the root and tossed in the non-compost trash to prevent further spread of those stinky ways.
Be blessed, and just think about flying away one day with Jesus while avoiding anything that would attract a fly!
Catherine
#IAppreciate BeingJoyfullyAliveToday
#I'mStayingClearOfStrangeThings
