Recently, I went out to a café to catch up with a friend. I’d been looking forward to hanging out, and it was a lovely outdoor café, where my friend could bring her dog. We chose a lovely table outdoors on the grass in the sunshine then chatted for a while before deciding what we each wanted to order. So we could save our table, and also look after the dog, we needed to order at the counter inside one at a time. I suggested that my friend go and order first, while I minded the dog, and then we could swap when she returned. The dog and I sat and chilled out in the sunshine, enjoying the day outside.
That’s when it happened.
I didn’t even feel it coming. I had no idea. No warning.
Suddenly, I felt something in my ear. And I heard something. Something coming from inside my ear. Then the whirring began. I could feel the buzzing of wings beating inside my ear. Something thought my ear was an exciting tunnel to explore! ‘Well, if it has wings, it can just fly on out again’, I thought. Some form of relief nudged its way into my mind. Until the creature began to tunnel in further. Buzz… whirr… buzz… whirr… pause…
Buzz… whirr… buzz… whirr… pause…
My relief was short-lived. With the tunnelling, came the pain. Each time the creature burrowed in further, my ear, and my mind, suffered. The panic began to set in. What if it tunnelled all the way inside? How does one remove a critter intent on digging itself further and further away from safety?
Buzz… whirr… buzz… whirr… pain… pause…
I had visions of needing to see a doctor to remove The Thing. It was a Sunday, however, which would mean a long wait in a busy emergency room at the hospital, as the doctors’ surgeries would be closed. The panic slowly began to increase. I tried to squeeze the side of my face at the edge of my ear to ‘close the tunnel’ up ahead and prevent the Creature from journeying any further.
Buzz… whirr… buzz… whirr… pain… pause…
Why wouldn’t this Thing realise it was going the wrong way and turn around? Surely, it could only sense darkness ahead, while the light streamed in from behind it.
Turn around! Go back! My mind willed the Creature, both for its sake, and mine.
I realised that there was no turning back for the Thing, of its own accord. It would need some help. But how? Maybe some water? I could try to flush it out. But I didn’t have any water with me. My friend was still in the line, waiting to order her meal, and I had to stay and look after the dog. I couldn’t even see my friend inside. What if the water pushes the Creature further in? What then? More panic.
Buzz… whirr… buzz… whirr… pain… pause…
I was getting desperate.
I had to do something.
I reached for my phone and dialled my friend. I told her that something had flown into my ear and was causing some pain, and asked if she could please bring some water. I think she could hear the desperation in my voice. A short time later my friend arrived with some water in a cup. I asked her to pour it into my ear. She looked at me strangely. I knelt down on the grass, but the angle wasn’t right. So I had to lie down. In the middle of the grassy expanse. With other patrons nearby, enjoying their meals. Dinner and a show. I didn’t care. I just wanted this Thing to get out of my ear. Forever.
My friend couldn’t see anything in there, but she poured the water into my ear, nonetheless. I quickly turned over to try and drain out the Critter. More water. I couldn’t feel any more buzzing, so that was encouraging. But where was the Thing?
Finally, my friend saw something inside my ear. She, very graciously, put her finger in my ear and wiped it out. It was an ant! An ant! Not even a bull ant, or a green ant, or a flying ant! Just a little, common ant. How could such a tiny ant, without wings, cause so much pain and panic?
It got me thinking.
Are we like that little ant? Do we find an exciting ‘tunnel’ to go adventuring in, not paying heed to the fact that only darkness lies ahead, while the Light is behind us? The Critter forged ahead anyway. Surely, at some point, it had to realise that it wasn’t getting anywhere useful and that it should turn around. But it didn’t. It stubbornly pushed ahead, thinking things might change and it just needed to try harder.
What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labour under the sun?
Ecclesiastes 2:22
Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”
John 8:12
The ant was pushing on ahead, away from the light, away from safety, away from life. Nothing good would come from it obstinately ramming its way into a dead-end.
What does God do for us when we are that ant, pushing ahead where we have no business to be? He tries to warn us. He sometimes puts roadblocks in our way to stop us from getting hurt. And yet, sometimes we beat our heads against the roadblocks, trying to force them out of our way, because we know best, right?
God knows how to get us out of trouble. Sometimes he sends a flood to wash us out of the pickle we’ve unknowingly, and sometimes knowingly, gotten ourselves into. I imagine the flood wouldn’t have been too pleasant for that little ant, but the sudden rush of water got it out of the dead-end tunnel it was in.
Unlike me, God doesn’t panic. Thankfully! He knows the future – He holds it in His hands.
You, Lord, are all I have, and you give me all I need; my future is in your hands.
Psalm 16:5
Because God doesn’t panic, I don’t need to either. I don’t need to be anxious or fearful.
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7
Hours later, I could still feel evidence that the Critter spent time in my ear, trying to beat its way forward, into the darkness. Unfortunately, our sins have an impact on God.
For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16
He gave up His life, in exchange for ours. But thankfully, this gives us Hope and Life!
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:23
Thankfully, the result of this exchange is that, when we choose Jesus, we can spend forever with Him. One day soon, there will be no more pointless and painful struggling, but instead peace, purity and perfection.
He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.
Revelation 21:4
But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:57
WRITER: Michelle Litster