Inspiration from Petra Pierre - Robertson

  Jeremiah 9:6  You live in the midst of deception I stepped outside to break the monotony of working online.   I was minding my own business desperately looking for at least one mango, when I stumbled into it. It was strung between the tank and the mango tree.   I stopped abruptly and cringed when I felt it against my face. The thin, almost transparent, intricately woven spider's web was not immediately visible.   On closer observation I noticed that it housed a very pretty, but probably poisonous spider that waited inert at the centre for potential unsuspecting preys (PUP) to be trapped. Pretty Probably Poisonous Spider Symbolisms, anecdotes, and quotes linking web with deception and deceit, immediately came to my mind.   I was almost deceived!   I raced back into the house for my phone, to capture images and document the epiphany moment.   "Oh, what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!" (Sir Walter Scott, 1808) Fast and ferocious the symbol

  But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people… (1 Peter 2:9)   Well kept Pot Hound Almost everyone was walking their dog on the trail. It was a cool Sunday morning; a nice morning for walking . We were also walking; and we had a dog too. It is amazing how humans notice dogs. They notice the dog before they notice The Master. They gaze at the dog, wave to it and smile at it, before their eyes finally connect with The Master; the one responsible for the condition of the dog.   As they walk away, they look back at...the dog   Various breeds of dogs On this particular morning, there were various breeds of dogs; Labradors, Terriers, Mastiffs, Pompeks and even some foreign looking snow dogs (who were not here on vacation)! As the dogs passed each other, they sized each other up, straining at the leashes held tightly by their masters; each wanting to dominate the other and project themselves as the better and more powerful dog. (Sounds familiar?)   

  "Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD And whose trust is the LORD. "For he will be like a tree planted by the water, That extends its roots by a stream And will not fear when the heat comes; But its leaves will be green, And it will not be anxious in a year of drought Nor cease to yield fruit.”   Jeremiah 17:7-8 Plenty fruit. Good or bad? I couldn't believe it. This could not be the same tree that had given us luscious, bounteous, fruits earlier in the year.   The season had been long and fruitful. I ate mangoes for breakfast, and even lunch, most days.  This was an inconsistent tree.  The most we had gotten from it in the past was one mango every few days, 7 – 10 mangoes at most.  We had never seen it blossom and bear like this!  When, a few months after that heartening season, we saw that the tree was flowering again expectation and excitement arose.  The tree was on a roll!  I salivated anticipating peeling back skin to dig into the juicy pulp of the mango; or  

The eyes of the LORD  are  in every place, beholding the evil and the good.  Proverbs 15:3 I stood alone watching the snail as it moved around, outside of its shell, stretching, eating and luxuriating in the blazing sun, unaware that a potential enemy was lurking. It was secure with its shell; even if there was an enemy, its shell would provide protection.   Snail exploring its habitat After about eight minutes of observation, I decided to test that premise. Would it immediately pull into the shell if I ventured closer? I moved very close to it.   Immediately, the soft slimy body slid back into the safety of its shell. Snail pulling back into shell But how safe was that shell really?  It was so easy for me to crush it; or pick it up and fling it against a wall, or in a pond, or dig the soft body of the snail out of the shell with an object. It occurred to me then that the protection of the snail at that point, was not really in the shell, but in me as I stood almost guard-like over it.

“And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, this is the way, walk ye in it…” Isaiah 30:21 Just Go     "Just Go." I stopped what I was doing and stood still. The impression was strong!   It stopped me in my tracks. But I was accustomed to checking first. To see if it made sense going. Because sometimes when I went nothing was there. Or what I thought was there wasn't there, or because I wanted it so badly, I thought God was saying “Go”, even He was saying nothing at all. So, when I heard, "Just go…" I momentarily hesitated to make the move. Instead, I turned in the direction of the familiar spot to check first, before deciding that I should go. But that strong impression; that voice! “Go now." Are you in a similar position? On prior occasions you thought you heard go and ventured out prematurely, to the point where, when the time came to really act, you almost missed out on your blessing because you had grown weary in well doing? You prayed but

  …the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake… (Genesis 39:5) Shared Spaces A recent comment by a fan of the Duke of Cambridge, Prince William, left me bemused. The prince had hosted National Health Service (NHS) staff for tea at Buckingham Palace. As he mingled with the health care providers, rain started falling.  Umbrellas were pulled out.  The prince shared his umbrella with the person with whom he was speaking at the time.  A comment in the YouTube thread read, "The young woman is so lucky to have shared an umbrella with Prince William!"   It had me thinking. We too are a chosen generation and a royal priesthood (1 Peter 2:9) . What about the people in our sphere of influences, our work, school, family and community? Are they also not “lucky”, but blessed, to share spaces with us? Do they benefit from the presence of God radiating through us? Be a blessing to others! I can't help but think of Joseph who was a servant in Potiphar’s household, yet Potiph

  Luke 10:33 And when he saw [it] he had compassion Long hard fall The urgent call caused me to stop what I was doing.   I poked my head out of the window and looked down into the backyard.  “Come see this!” Mere seconds before I had heard a soft thud.   I raced out of the room, headed for the back  door, and ran into the yard.   I gasped at the reason for the soft thud and the urgent call.     “I just happened to glance down. I don’t usually look in that direction. What if I hadn't?” Displayed before my eyes was a baby bird in a plant pot. It had suffered a long hard fall from its nest, high up in the tree.  We immediately sprang into action. A rescue plan was needed. With utmost care he took it up, placed it temporarily in a box and gave the box to me.  Then, he got a ladder, climbed to the tip of the leaned limb, but strong tree, and, at peril to himself, he sat atop the ladder, which was precariously perched on bricks, to afford him access to the nest high up in the tree.  Reco