Banana Spiders and other delicacies....

As I see it…
Banana spiders and Dominican cockroaches: if you’ve ever traveled to or lived in a tropical climate, such critters are relatively common residents of the land. On the one hand you should not be surprised to encounter this semi-select group of God’s creatures. On the other hand it’s nice to be warned in advance that such encounters can indeed take place. First the good news: banana spiders are only interested in mosquitoes; and their hard-shelled 12th cousins are only interested in night life and crumbs (I think!). Now the not-so-good news: banana spiders (mature ones, that is) are the size of a grown man’s hand; Dominican cockroaches (like some of their Floridian kin-folk) have the ability to fly, coming complete with landing gears and head lights. As the King James folks would put it, “my hap was to light” upon one each at the same time about midnight. I was not startled so much as I was frozen in time. Neither of these critters was concerned at the fact that I had turned on the light: the spider refused to move and the cockroach continued scurrying around as if my presence was inconsequential. I took care of my business, obtained a glass of water, making sure no other critters were in the glass, took my pills and quietly backed out of the kitchen and turned off the light. I did not bother to look over my shoulder to see if either was following me. My midnight encounter has caused me to wonder: Since I wasn’t present at creation, I have no idea why my Heavenly Father chose to make such “living creatures which crawl upon the face of the earth” (I certainly hope it was because of the fall, not before it!). He certainly doesn’t need my permission. But, it is a mild inconvenience to have to share the same continent or even island with the likes of these arthropods. The hymn writer explored the fact and praised our Lord for “all creatures, great and small.” I wonder if he ever came face to insect with a banana spider before he penned such words?