Whose Kingdom?

            The writers of the movie, Kingdom of the Spiders must have had a wonderful time coming up with that title. Titles aren’t my strength. I think that’s an awesome title. I watched the movie on network TV and loved it for only two reasons. It had been filmed near where I used to live in Arizona, and the lead actor was Captain Kirk. I did not care for the images of spiders gone wild. 

            Kingdom of the Spiders was a typical “Nature on the Rampage” film. That era saw a lot of stories like that with the environmental movement becoming more prominent.  Jaws and The Birds could be examples of that genre done well. But for every good movie of that type, there may be a dozen bad ones.

            I don’t mind spiders, even in the shower. I do not care for the poisonous ones. Webs, however, I don’t care for. I have gone around the outside of the church buildings several times a week with a broom and dusted spiderwebs. A day or so later they’re back. I get a little irked that webs give an appearance of disrepair and neglect. My thinking goes to unsaved people glancing at a cobweb on the outside fence of the church playground. These people turn around and head for home, but never make it because some accident ends their life before they are ever saved and it’s my fault for not getting that spiderweb.

That’s a character flaw in me and I’m working on it.  I’ve recently blogged about it. I go on and on about how much I enjoy working alone. Maybe it’s a drawback that I think too much without talking my thoughts out, sorting them with a real person.         

            I have also recently reflected on the megalomaniacal people in the world and the fear they cause. The day I wrote a blog about Freedom from Fear was the day of the Boston Bombing. I didn’t mean to be relevant to the world situation. There were already things to be afraid of besides homemade bombs going off in crowds.             

            I don’t worry too much about the world ending. I used to in the 80’s with the threat of Nuclear War being such an everyday thing. Nowadays I don’t watch the news too much. I know that there are still threats that could end humanity as we know it. It’s like world-ending news never wants to completely go away.

            I might not be making a lot of sense today. But I wanted to write what I’ve been thinking about. Cobwebs bounce back. Earwigs, also known as pincer bugs, seem to spontaneously multiply in order to consume crops. While raptor birds are on the endangered list, nature seems to make up for it in pests. The world is resilient. Humanity could take a lesson from it.

I don’t want to be in denial about what’s going on in the world. But I also don’t want to be paralyzed by fear. Sometimes all it takes is just to look at cobwebs and see how resilient the world is. I brush them away and they’re back days later. And it’s not the spider’s kingdom that is so powerful, but the one who made spiders. It is after all, His kingdom.