“How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!” Psalm 133:1

“AAAAAAHH!” Was the first word I heard, followed by my name. By the time the name was mentioned, I already knew what was going on and was on the way. My lovely wife was getting ready for work in the bedroom and it was obvious a palmetto bug had interrupted her routine. Living in Florida, its happened before, so I already have this routine – get up… go… kill… dispose!

Flipping a bug into a room full of trans athletes could immediately help determine birth gender! Being the man, I am “The Eradicator!” Usually, palmetto bugs move slowly because I ‘spray’ on a regular basis. This one was VERY lively, crawling on her clothes laid out on the bed! Righteous indignation rose within me, so I didn’t take the time to get a weapon and snatched it barehanded!

Disposal of palmetto bugs may vary, but I like to flush them. There is a certain gratification that comes from watching them swirl away into oblivion. Gone from view forever, it gives me the sense of a ‘win!’ Katie told me they’ve been reading the storybook of ‘Maybelle’ the cockroach in school. Then said, “But there’s a difference between reading a cute story and experiencing the real thing!”

She went on to suggest how funny it is that inward knowledge doesn’t change outward experience. Just yesterday, she was speaking to the kids about how ‘cute’ Maybelle was! The ‘feeling’ from the story did not transform reality. We ended up talking about how satan works… trying to make the idea of sin and abandonment of God OK. Only to ‘freak out’ when the reality of repercussions hit!

I’ve learned over the years that satan is a bug guy. He loves to throw little ones into my life and watch me freak. But his favorite, most successful place he likes to show up is among groups, like families and Churches! A little ‘conflict crawl,’ the wiggling antennae of attention, outrageous opinion and the frightfulness of fighting can quickly cause discomfort, disunity and dissension.

God doesn’t WANT me to get used to satan’s creepy schemes. He wants me to ‘spray’ in advance by asking me to ‘PRAY’ for His eradication of bad ‘bugs.’ Bugs that would love to cause me to scream and run from Him. Are YOU PRAYed up and hanging with others who are as well?