Julie Lavender

CONSIDER THE GOLDEN ORB WEAVER

by Julie Lavender

Heading out for my morning walk with a lengthy Christmas to-do list on my mind, I notice something glistening in the sun just above eye-level in the trees next to my house. It’s the web of a golden orb weaver shimmering like some of the glittery ornaments on my Christmas tree.

I’m not particularly fond of spiders and haven’t been since a nightmare when I was about ten-years-old. I still cringe when I see one, and the thought of one landing on me, like it did in my nightmare, makes me do a very unattractive dance, somewhat like the Marv Merchants character on the Christmas favorite, Home Alone, during the tarantula scene.

Yet, with the golden orb weaver and many other creepy crawly critters, I have learned to appreciate their beauty after marrying my biologist husband, David.

Eight-legged beauty

An arachnid, not an insect (because of her eight legs and two body parts instead

of six legs and three body parts), the large golden orb weaver that looks too heavy to be supported by the dainty web she's spun has a thick black and yellow body, stripes of yellow and black on its legs, and patterns of read and yellow and white on the underside. Three of the four pair of legs have tufts of hair-like bristles on them. 

And her web – it’s nothing short of spectacular! Obviously from her name, the web is circular-shaped, and the spiral threads of silk are bright yellow in color, convincing the observer that it truly is made of gold.

The sticky web catches unobservant prey flitting around. But this tricky arachnid adds a colored-enticement to attract unsuspecting bees and other insects to the yellow glint.

There’s another web near my back door above 

the bottlebrush bush, but David

says they’ll be gone soon, as they don’t handle the cold weather well. For now, though, their golden webs are magnificent.

Dreaming of treasures

I daydream of gold as I get moving, walking cautiously to make sure there’s not a third web that will trap an unsuspecting me on my journey.

Praying is a priority on most morning walks, but today, I have so many things on my mind to get ready for Christmas that I spend most of the jaunt prioritizing my shopping list and errands for later.

Four children and a son-in-love who claim they have nothing on their wish-lists….well, that’s not accurate. The youngest typically has a list long enough for all of them! So hard to come up with ideas that are practical, yet fun and affordable.

A husband who doesn’t want money spent on him. And that one’s not accurate either, because technically we’ve already decided on our Christmas gift to each other. A new stovetop to replace the one with the cracked burner. I see visions of dollar signs, dancing in my head….

Extended family, friends, the family our Sunday School is shopping for, Christmas goodies, wrapping paper and bows, Christmas decorations that need updating …. ideas for so many on the list run out as fast as the means to pay for them.

If only I had my own, personal gold-spinner! What if I had enough gold to take care of my family, everyone I knew, and every name that hung on a wish-list tree somewhere? What if I could pay for it all with threads of gold?

Still spinning

By the time I return from my walk, my head is spinning; I spent very little time talking to God, and nothing is resolved on my to-do list.

I stop at the web, again, drawn to the glittering gold. Wait – there’s something else in the web. Coming closer – but not too close - I see a helpless, lethargic insect trapped in the web, and I watch the golden orb weaver spinning more thread to encase the green victim in a cocoon of gold.

Ew. I remember that David told me she’ll either suck the insides of the venom-injected, paralyzed insect now for breakfast or ‘hang’ it in the web for an afternoon snack. More ewww.

Wrapped in gold. No – trapped in gold. That’s how I’d just spent my morning walk. Trapped in daydreams of gold.

The greatest treasure

Christmas is not supposed to be glitter and visions of dollar signs and long to-do lists, but I’d let the glimmer of the season entice and attract me and catch me in a web I didn’t want to be in.

Fortunately for me and unlike that small insect, I can escape.

I turn my thoughts to the real treasure of the season, One wrapped in swaddling clothes so many years ago and born in a humble stable. The One that angels announced and shepherds shouted. The One that caused Wise Men to wonder and wander and kings to quiver and question. The One that a couple cuddled. The One that showed God’s glory.

And the One that, from His birth in a manger to His death on a cross, saved me from the trappings and webs of this world so that I could spend eternity with Him.

He is my greatest treasure, and everything I treasure belongs to Him.

This Christmas, rather than being trapped in glitter, I hope I can bring Him my gold and treasures, just like the Wise so long ago and the World in days to come.    

       

  They shall bring gold.....