Thank God for the Spider Catchers in Your Life
Sometimes my wife thinks I¹m nuts, which I can assure you is usually completely unfounded. When it comes to my choice of vacation, however, many seem to agree with her. When I need to get away one of my favorite activities is to go backpacking. There is something very challenging and refreshing about hiking 70 or so miles on the Appalachian Trail, which is what I got to do last week. The Appalachian Trail is a 2181-mile trail that goes from Georgia to Maine that I have hiked on for forty years. If you hike on it for long you learn to be grateful for the spider web breakers. I find that life is somewhat like hiking on the Appalachian Trail. There are good days and bad. After hours of hard work hiking and wondering how long this uphill battle will last you suddenly break out at the top to catch exhilarating views of God¹s creation and glory. Sometimes it is the little things that are the most annoying, like exasperating gnats that seem to love to fly into my ears while I¹m hiking. The most rewarding accomplishments in life are the ones that require the greatest work and commitment. And many times there are those who have gone before us and we don¹t even realize what sacrifices they made on our behalf. When hiking the Appalachian Trail one of the little annoying things are all the small spiders that build their webs overnight across the trail. The webs are so fine you cannot see them. You only know they are there when you walk into them and feel them across your face and arms. Now and then you have to knock a couple of small spiders off you as you hike. I hate walking through spider webs. When you are the first person down the trail of a morning you are the one who gets to break all the spider webs for those walking behind you. We affectionately call these folks the spider catchers. Many times when hiking you don¹t know the name of the person who is hiking a mile or two in front of you. In fact, you may have never even seen them, but they have paved the way for you. Every one of us has spider catcher in our lives, and we may not even know their names. These are the folks who have gone before and paved the way for us. They may be parents, grandparents, or complete strangers. But each one paid a price and made sacrifices that we benefit from today. The apostle Paul tells us, ³Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ² (1 Corinthians 11:1). Many have sacrificed greatly so we can enjoy freedom in this nation. Many sacrificed to bring us the gospel of Christ. When possible we need to express our gratitude to those who have gone before us. Who are the spider catchers in your life? Who went before you so you could get an education? Who sacrificed so you could have a roof over your head? Who shared Christ with you or taught you the truth of God¹s Word? Remember one of the spider catchers in your life and send them a note of gratitude. Thank that pastor who taught you God¹s word when you were young or surprise the pastor you have now with a card. Write a note to your parent, a special coach, or teacher who caught a lot of spider webs for you. Your note will bring great joy to someone¹s heart.
