aarli1952@clearwire.net
While we are still technically in winter, the thought of spring and planning which beautiful flowers I will plant in my itsy, bitsy flower beds has me perusing the internet for ideas. Above all, they must be colorful, hardy and feline resistant. They must also be willing to thrive without much water, as I frequently forget to water them! Perhaps prickly cactus will be a good choice. Nah – I don’t like cactus. On the other hand, some are very attractive, hardy and definitely thrive without much water. There, that decision is closer to resolution.
Next project, hopefully, will be a new screen door for the back door. We bought our home nearly 20 years ago and each Spring I hint at the need for a screen door. Predictably, spring, summer and fall come and go and the screen door is still one of those back burner projects. Maybe this year! Which brings me to the first part of this writing.
I can’t fully explain it, but flies remind me of little demons; come to torment my mind and body. I simply can’t stand the thought of where they may have been before their obtrusive appearance. Realizing that flies carried disease probably does little to endear them to my thought process. In the ‘old days’ my parents would buy sticky fly strips, which we would uncoil from a cardboard holder and hang from the ceiling. Anyone remember those? The sticky strip would dangle into the room and if you were tall enough and not careful, you could find your hair caught along with the flies. I didn’t have to worry about that because I never grew much over five feet. I rather enjoyed watching as they struggled to free themselves, but to no avail. Funny which events you remember as you get older, isn’t it?
I love to open the doors and windows first thing in the morning to bring in the fresh morning air. Of course there are days it’s too warm, or perhaps too cold to open them, but if he weather is conducive, you will find my door and windows open. If you hold the thought of the open door, you have a good beginning to understand the rest of this story.
As usual, I threw open the back door this particular morning, drew my lungs full of clean fresh air, and began my normal Friday routine. I noticed a huge black fly had decided to take up residence in the house. "Oh, no you don’t," I thought. "Who knows where you have been visiting before you came to my house?" With that revolting thought in mind I proceeded to grab the fly swatter and went a few rounds with Mr. Fly. I lost the first couple of rounds; he must have decided to lay low for a while, sensing his life was in deep jeopardy. I was off to other matters.
Seeing a note from my husband to pick him up from work, and then glancing at my watch, I needed to make some fast tracks to cover all the bases. I figured he’d eventually come out of hiding and my house guest temporarily slipped my mind, disgusting as he was.
After some shopping and other errands, my hubby and I enjoyed lunch at our favorite restaurant. After chatting, eating and catching up on a couple of items in the morning paper it was again time to force our way out into the nearly 100 degree temperature. Climbing into the car we prayed the air conditioner would kick in and bring the temperature to a tolerable level before we arrived home. Trouble with some of these new fangled gadgets; they don’t always work when you need them most.
Back to the fly. Having forgotten about him I was quite surprised to be strafed in the utility room! Gutsy guy, he was. Grabbing the trusty fly swatter hanging just above the washer, I took after Mr. Fly with a vengeance. Swish, miss, swish, miss. This was getting most annoying. Finally the dummy flew into the master bath. "Aha, I’ve got you now" I thought, as I scrambled to close both doors with myself in the same room as the fly.
Now if you have infinite patience, this trick will work. You simply outwait and outwit the fly. He would plaster himself against the huge glass pane and I’d step into the garden tub to "get him." Predictably, he sneaked away from the window and buzzed around the room. All is again quiet as I lay in ambush for Mr. Fly. "There you are – gotcha this time". Really? He’s smart enough to hide behind the footed soap dish on the vanity. Bummer. So I chase him out of that hiding place, and zoom, he’s back at the window. I’m back in the tub, swatter poised at just the right angle. Zip, he’s back into the middle of the room, and I’m out of the tub. This goes on for about ten minutes. While I’m scheming about my next maneuver, he simply slips under the door and into the bedroom!
We’re obviously back to square one. Or are we? Much later, he’s stupid enough to fly back into the master bath, apparently attracted to the light coming through the window. We go through all the previously described cat and mouse antics and finally he blows it by landing on the wall. He’s history.
If you think about it, this is much the same tactic Satan uses. He is well seasoned at cat and mouse games and uses them masterfully. If you think you have him outwitted, he will most assuredly find a way around your defenses.
In verses 43-35 of Matthew chapter we read: "When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, seeking rest but finding none. Then it says, ‘I will return to the person I came from.’ So it returns and finds its former home empty, swept, and clean. Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before. That will be the experience of this evil generation."
In this passage Jesus was describing the attitude of the nation of Israel and the religious leaders in particular. Just cleaning up one’s life without filling it with God leaves plenty of room for Satan to enter. The book of Ezra records how the people rid themselves of idolatry but failed to replace it with love for God and obedience to him. Ridding our life of sin is the first step. We must also take the second step: filling our life with God’s Word and the Holy Spirit. Unfilled and complacent people are easy targets for Satan.
You see, even flies become complacent; it was a matter of time before I won the battle. Now to better guard against another sneaky fly I switched on the air conditioner and closed the outside door still wishing for a screen door. Let us guard against the wiles of the enemy by sweeping out the junk of the world, and keeping our hearts filled with the things of the Lord.
Col 3:1-3 "If then you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, sated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God."
