Last week, my cousins were visiting and one of the things we did was go to the bug zoo (super cool, by the way).
Now, I'm not really a bug person in the sense that I want to have an ant farm or have any insects as pets, but if they're in the garden that's fine. So you'd think a bug zoo would not be a place I'd want to hang out. However, insects are pretty interesting and amazing to look at, especially the big ones (as long as they are in their tanks). It's a pretty small museum, being only two medium sized rooms, yet we ended up staying for over an hour and a half.
Not only did we get to see different types of insects and tarantulas, (which, although scare the pants off me, I actually held!) we also got to learn a ton about them from the guide.
And a lot of what we learned was stuff I never knew, like that tarantulas are incredibly delicate and, due to a fragile exoskeleton, will basically die if dropped.
One of the things that I found both interesting and bizarre was about stick bugs and their way of laying their eggs. The females essentially “flick” their eggs and let them land wherever they land. Not the greatest mother role model, eh?
While it sounds kind of funny, it got me thinking.
Why am I here? I don't mean why I am alive. Why am I here?
Why am I in Canada? Why was I born where I was? Why was I moved? Why am I where I am today?
Sure, my parents had a lot to do with the moves, but I don't really believe in chance.
Why wasn't I born into poverty, unrest, violence?
It's easy for me to say that I was put here for a purpose; that my home has always been in a relatively peaceful, tolerant place because that's what God intended for me and my family. But the truth is that I do believe it. It isn't fair that I have plenty to eat and drink, while others have to fight for their lives every single day. And there are plenty of people who have more than I do. It's not because of anything I did to deserve it, in the same way that those living in third world countries, dangerous surroundings, etc, are not to “blame” for circumstances. Our place of birth has nothing to do with what we did.
So how did we end up where we are? Were we basically “flicked” randomly into the world? A lot of people would probably say yes. Personally, I don't believe it. Having a faith in Jesus has taught me that God's love is too deep to be random. “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” (Psalm 139:16). I'm aware that saying I “have a relationship with Christ” might sound wishy washy or stupid. You might have stopped reading at those words. You might think that I'm some narrow-minded, religious nut. You can think whatever you want, but anyone who knows me knows that isn't true.
The point I'm trying to make is that, while I don't know a lot, I feel pretty confident in saying that I wasn't just “flung” randomly into the world, to land wherever and have to fend for myself from the start. Believe what you will, but I don't think God's a stick bug.
Happy April :)
