Josiah Road

A Minivan, a Spider, and a Brush with Death

It started out as a peaceful summer drive in my minivan. Yes, I owned a minivan, complete with the speakers and blue interior lights that I added to give it a more “me” feel. I was driving through a set of stoplights when I caught something out of the corner of my eye descending from the roof onto my right shoulder. Now you must understand, there is one thing in life I am deathly afraid of. I’d say I’m afraid of failure, pain, rejection, and all the normal stuff, but nothing competes with my fear of spiders. They stand in a league of their own, challenging my very manhood and taunting me from their evil webs. Of course, I don’t like to let people know this, so I try to cover it up. After all, the spiders we have in Cochrane can’t even hurt you! But even if they could, that’s not why I’m afraid of them. There is some sort of deep-rooted animosity we have for one another that has lain beneath the surface since birth. But on this day, it burst forth in all its passionate glory: “THERE IS A SPIDER ON MY SHOULDER!” I wish I could tell you I handled the situation with a calm flick of my fingers, but that was not the case. I completely lost control, screaming and flailing and squirming. Then I heard the sounds of horns. What could that be? I looked up just in time to swerve back into the right lane and away from oncoming traffic. Finally, in a heroic last attempt to defeat my adversary, I twisted in my seat, opened my door and swatted the creature into the wind. I had just barely made it out with my life (and my door, which closed just in time to avoid a passing car)! After facing my fears (and traffic) head on, I am still not a changed man. I am still afraid, but it’s a fight I will keep fighting…

Sometimes I am surprised by what I see from people. They seem so spiritual and put-together; yet when a certain crisis enters their lives, they completely fall apart. There is a common phrase that says, “It’s easier said than done.” I believe this is true. We talk a lot as Christians, but how much of it do we practice? When a crisis hits our lives, what does our reaction show? When someone mistreats us, do we respond in a way that would reflect the God we claim to serve? Judas Iscariot walked with Jesus and called him Lord for three years, yet a few pieces of silver showed everyone his true colors. It’s a question I have to continually ask myself. Am I feeding the hatred people have for hypocritical Christians? If I am, there is a problem, and it’s got to change.