Julie Lavender

CONSIDER THE WALKING STICK
by Julie Lavender

My walk today was later than usual and it was an unusually warm afternoon, even by south-Georgia standards, for a January day.

The bright sunshine was a welcome change from the rainy days we’d recently had and my mind drifted away from prayer time with God and dabbled with thoughts of New Year’s plans and goals. 

I didn’t make resolutions specifically this year, but I’ll admit my calendar is penciled in for the next six or seven months with various activities and expectations.

Good things, of course – some work-related and many family-related. But a busy calendar already, nonetheless.

Slight movement caught my eye on an old log next to the driveway, but a quick glance revealed nothing but a small twig moving in the breeze.

I almost kept going, but then realized there was no breeze today.

A STICK THAT WALKS  

With a closer inspection, I realized I’d come across a walking stick. Unusual for one to be active this time of the year, but south-Georgia weather is enough to confuse meteorologist with PhD’s, so I wasn’t surprised that a walking stick was out walking today, just like me.

TWIGS THAT SWAY 

Resembling a twig with legs and antennae, a walking stick is related to grasshoppers and crickets. God gave the walking stick several ways to protect itself, but perhaps the most interesting is its camouflage abilities. With no movement, the walking stick looks like, well, a stick – an unappetizing twig.

The walking stick can even mimic swaying movements like a stick moving with the wind.

STEMS THAT SHOOT

If a particularly wise predator, like a bird or cat, isn’t fooled and tries to catch it, the walking stick can detach a limb and scramble away. The missing limb later grows back. Some walking sticks shoot a foul-smelling spray from their abdomens that deters predators, too.

INSECTS THAT DINE

Walking sticks dine on leaves and vegetation and go undetected by most humans and many other creatures because of their expert camouflage capabilities.

And to think that I almost missed God’s beauty today on my walk because I was pondering my calendar, rapidly filling up, and it’s not even mid-January!  

AND A MESSAGE 

FROM GOD

I think God had an important message for me today. If I’m not careful, I’ll get so busy with MY calendar that I’ll totally miss what GOD is doing this year.

I need to remember to keep my eyes on God first and foremost in 2019. It may take some scrutiny on my part, closer looks and inspection when I get distracted by other thoughts and things around me, to witness a stick that walks.

Or it may be so obvious, like the welcome sunshine after days of rain, that I can’t miss what God is doing.

For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? (Isaiah 43:19 NLT)

But either way – big or little "somethings" - I can’t wait to see what GOD has in store for my calendar in 2019!

Happy New Year!

What about you? Are you watching for God to do something new in your life this year? May I join you in prayer for that "new" thing? Or maybe an "old" thing that's been on your resolution list for a number of years? I'd be honored to pray for you in 2019!