Ticks

I hate ticks.

Out of all of the creepy-crawlies I've encountered, I hate ticks the most.  And that's saying a lot.  I have battled tarantulas in my classroom, met scorpions in the oddest places, had giant spiders fall from the ceiling next to me, killed large cockroaches on a regular basis and even had a red ant colony migrate onto my bed!  Still...ticks are worse in my opinion and I've felt that way long before I knew they could transmit a debilitating disease that wreaks havoc on your life.

I still remember a terrifying date Dom and I had back in Alberta.  We went to Abraham Lake by car and explored the beautiful surroundings.  On our way back a tick climbed up Dom's neck - he felt it, threw it in the car and we lost it.  Then we found it again climbing my neck...same reactions ensued.  Three times this tick was found and lost in the car.  Later that night I found it on me AGAIN and finally killed it - which took a lot of effort and various tools - including a hammer!  That thing was almost indestructible!

That brings us to now. On Friday night we found a tick on Stella, our cat.  I was not irrational in my fear, thankfully.  We took her to the vet because our cat is fierce and we didn't think it would be an easy task to remove it.  The Vet technician showed the tick to us afterwards...It seemed rather harmless in the little glass tube, yet still disgusting.

It made me think of all of my experiences and why I hated ticks more than other things I've encountered.  I came to the conclusion that it was because ticks were out to get me...literally.  Tarantulas, scorpions, even ants (and there are some very scary ants out there) don't go out of their way to find you and eat you.  But ticks are on the prowl.  Not only will they go after you, they will latch on and feed off of you, like the parasites that they are.

The Bible says that the devil is on the prowl (I Peter 5:8).  He is trying to have sin latch onto us just like a parasite.  Sin can seem harmless at first but just like those ticks it grows and transmits disease...if we leave it in our lives it affects us negatively in our walk with the Lord and our relationships with each other.  It can even become ingrained in us, so deep that we can't tell where it starts.

I actually do a tick sweep nowadays when I get back into the house from a lovely walk in the wilderness...checking that one hasn't hitched a ride.  How often do we do that spiritually, asking God to do a sweep - making sure that we are not carrying something sinister.  If we find something what is our reaction?  Do we just let it go in our house to come after us again?  Or do we take that hammer and dispose of it effectively!  This may be a far-fetched analogy, but I do think that when we find sin in our lives the best thing to do is deal with it strongly and firmly - If we ask God He will allow us to recognize it for what it is, Godly repentance let's us get into a position to have it removed, Jesus' power breaks it off, God's grace is strong enough to kill it, and prayer is our hammer.  Let's let God finish the work in us!

I Peter 5:8-9a (ESV)
"Be sober-minded; be watchful.  Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.  Resist him, firm in your faith."