My son, Isaiah, told me the most interesting story this week that he learned in school. He told me about a certain kind of beetle called a bootleg beetle. It goes into an ant colony under the disguise of a smell they love. He carries a liquor on the hairs of his back and the ants quickly lap it up. As their desire for this beetle liquor takes over, they neglect the eggs that is under their care. While the ants get drunk, the beetles eat their eggs. Not only do they eat the eggs of the ants, they lay their own eggs in their place for the ants to care for. As the beetles hatch out, they take over the ant colony.
As Isaiah told me that story, I was enthralled! I had never heard of that insect! Then I looked over at my handsome, growing son and I was instantly sobered. This bootleg beetle…this tempting and intoxicating drink….is it in my home? Is it luring me away from protecting my young? Are my sons and daughters in danger because their mother is drunk? There are so many ways that I can become intoxicated! Most of it comes down to one thing though – something enticed me away from guarding my young.
I believe that I can get all caught up in the “Martha Stewart” side of keeping my home. I am doing a great job as a wife and mother if I keep the house clean, the laundry done, and the meals planned and cooked. Those things just listed make me a keeper of my house, but not a keeper of my home. I like a tidy house, but my greatest job description is not about a tidy house. My job is to be a guardian of my young!
This is the time for me to be sober to the cobwebs and dust that settles over the hearts of my children. This is the time for me to be alert to the ploys of Satan as he seeks to lure me with the sweet delicacies that he offers that are full of poison and will dull my senses. This is the time that I must be on guard to what will try to destroy the lives of my kids and what will try to slip in to replace what they were meant to be.
May God help and guide me to stay alert! This Momma Ant is on to the bootleg beetle!
living on pb & j 