I was in my garage yesterday when I was literally stopped in my tracks over something happening just beneath my feet. And if I hadn’t been paying attention, I would have missed it altogether. If I hadn’t been alert enough, I might have inadvertently ruined the glorious work of a very busy insect.
I don’t know if I can say whether I’ve seen this before or not. If I have, I don’t remember.
But it is an image I will not too soon forget.
Two ants.
One fully alive.
One fully deceased.
One busily working to carry the fatally injured one somewhere. And in a hurry.
I actually had to grab my phone quickly in an effort to capture them before they disappeared.
And I would read about them this morning.
“This is a very interesting subject in regards to one of the busiest insects in the animal kingdom. When the ants carry their dead back to their colonies, they dump them to their personal waste disposal area which is the midden.”
Image this?
One of God’s smallest creatures carefully tending to another of his kind with enormous care and precision?
And what was even more amazing to me was that the healthy ant stopped periodically along the way to lay his brother down and fidget a bit. It seriously emulated a distress cry, as though he was literally pausing to mourn and grieve the loss of his buddy.
My Google search resulted in one article that ended with these words, it’s like we are witnessing the “carrying a dear friend back to his home.”
How amazing is this?
I can’t be the only one who finds this fascinating??
And it got me thinking.
Because we’re all just carrying each other home.
Even the seemingly small and insignificant lives of an ant see the importance of connection and care. The tiniest of God’s design recognizes the requirement for tenderness and comfort.
And in their gravest condition, in their most wounded predicament, the compassion extended is the most beautiful thing. It is a final love offering. A gift they gently bestow upon their companion.
Who do you need to reach out to to offer help today?
Who do you need to love more gently today?
Who needs to be reminded that they're not alone?
Who needs to be carried today, because the race has physically exhausted them?
What burdens can you lift for another today?
Be a friend.
Love big.
Serve well.
Give generously.
Forgive mistakes.
We’re all… every one of us… just walking each other home.
Let’s make the journey lighter and more full of ridiculous joy, can we?
If the ants can do this honor thing well… so can we.
One fully alive.
One fully deceased.
One busily working to carry the fatally injured one somewhere. And in a hurry.
I actually had to grab my phone quickly in an effort to capture them before they disappeared.
And I would read about them this morning.
“This is a very interesting subject in regards to one of the busiest insects in the animal kingdom. When the ants carry their dead back to their colonies, they dump them to their personal waste disposal area which is the midden.”
Image this?
One of God’s smallest creatures carefully tending to another of his kind with enormous care and precision?
And what was even more amazing to me was that the healthy ant stopped periodically along the way to lay his brother down and fidget a bit. It seriously emulated a distress cry, as though he was literally pausing to mourn and grieve the loss of his buddy.
My Google search resulted in one article that ended with these words, it’s like we are witnessing the “carrying a dear friend back to his home.”
How amazing is this?
I can’t be the only one who finds this fascinating??
And it got me thinking.
Because we’re all just carrying each other home.
Even the seemingly small and insignificant lives of an ant see the importance of connection and care. The tiniest of God’s design recognizes the requirement for tenderness and comfort.
And in their gravest condition, in their most wounded predicament, the compassion extended is the most beautiful thing. It is a final love offering. A gift they gently bestow upon their companion.
Who do you need to reach out to to offer help today?
Who do you need to love more gently today?
Who needs to be reminded that they're not alone?
Who needs to be carried today, because the race has physically exhausted them?
What burdens can you lift for another today?
Be a friend.
Love big.
Serve well.
Give generously.
Forgive mistakes.
We’re all… every one of us… just walking each other home.
Let’s make the journey lighter and more full of ridiculous joy, can we?
If the ants can do this honor thing well… so can we.
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