by Julie Lavender
My family
took an afternoon walk the day after Thanksgiving in a nearby state park. The
weather was beautiful here in south-Georgia, and I was on a quest to take
pictures of autumn shades before the leaves completely let go for the season.
Which meant
my camera was on my shoulder when we spotted an armadillo foraging in the woods
just on the other side of the trail.
Armadillos
are prolific where I live, but the nocturnal animals are more difficult to spot
during daylight hours. About twenty species of armadillo exist around the
world, but the nine-banded one is the only species found in the United States.
Bony overlapping
plates, like a suit of armor cover most of an armadillo’s body, and that’s
where the little rascal gets its name. “Armadillo” means “little armored one”
in Spanish.
Most of the
folks in the south consider an armadillo a nuisance because they can really
wreck a lawn, plant bed, or pasture. The mammals dig, using their sharp claws,
searching for insects, grubs, scorpions, snails or spiders.
So,
beneficial in that they rid of insects, armadillos leave lots and lots of small
ugly holes in yards and plant beds. And, they dig deep burrows to sleep and
hide in during the day. Burrows in pastures are dangerous to unsuspecting cattle
or horses.
Armadillos
also happen to be the only animal other than humans that can contract leprosy,
but the transfer of leprosy from armadillos to humans is really rare.
An
interesting fact about armadillos is that nine-banded armadillos almost always
give birth to four identical babies. Quadruplet boys or quadruplet girls!
Armadillos
live in the southeastern United States prominently, but are also in other parts
of the southern United States, like Texas. However, their range is stretching,
and apparently some have been found as far north as Nebraska and Illinois.
Those
prehistoric-looking, in my opinion, little guys with their armor-plated body,
remind me of the verse in Ephesians, that says, “Put on the full armor of God,
so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes” (Ephesians 6:11
NIV).
The armor
protects the armadillo from almost all predators. It’s just not worth trying to
chomp through the armor! The armor covers the head, back, tail, and legs. The
belly, with no plates, is vulnerable, if a predator is wise enough to attack
accordingly.
Ephesians
6:11 specifically instructs us to put on the FULL armor. Unprotected areas
encourage vulnerability and invite attack from the enemy.
The next
few verses describe the complete, armored uniform:
“Stand firm then, with the
belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness
in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the
gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with
which you can
extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation
and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:14-17).
* BELT OF
TRUTH
*
BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
* SHOES OF
READINESS
* SHIELD OF
FAITH
* HELMET OF SALVATION
* SWORD OF
THE SPIRIT
Thank you, God, for the reminder
from my foraging woodland friend to dress in your FULL armor every day. I so need that protection to stand against the evil one's schemes.
Amen.
Given your love of all things natural, I'm not surprised at all by your armadillo knowledge Ms. Julie. I can't offer any scientific knowledge on them, but I'll share two facts (from my experience with them) and a fun story, briefly. Fact one, they have really poor vision (I can sneak up on them easily). Fact two, when you pick them up by their tails, they spin furiously, but if you tap their snout on the ground they'll stop spinning (I wont expand on why it's good to stop them from spinning). Now the fun fact, the Fort Green (FL) Baptist Church is the only church I know of that has/had a standing Armadillo Committee. Their job is/was to patrol the church and adjoining graveyard grounds at night and dispatch of them little "dirt diggers." I know, because my little brother and his wife were that committee for many years. :-) Another wonderful post ma'am.
ReplyDeleteOh, my goodness - an armadillo committee at a church....NOW I have heard everything!!! This is a hoot, J.D. And, yes, my husband reminded me they have poor eyesight and poor hearing, but excellent sense of smell. I had NO idea about the spinning! That is fascinating. Doesn't God's creativity never cease to amaze you? I am constantly amazed by Him!
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed learning a little more about the "little armored ones." They always have their armor on... and this was a great reminder that I should always be wearing mine, too. (Fun fact, I blogged on the same verse this week!)
ReplyDeleteDon't you love when God does that, Barb? I love when He spotlights certain verses or Bible stories through different avenues, in close proximity, because it makes me really take notice and want to dive into the lesson He's trying to teach me! I LOVED your post with the specifics about the full armor - lots for me to take in!!! Thanks for commenting.
ReplyDeleteWell...God knew that I needed these reminders (I just read Barb's post, too). We not only need to put on God's armor every day--we need to use it for His intended purpose. I fell short this week, but I'm suiting up again as of today! Thank you, my friend, for your inspiration.
ReplyDeleteKatherine, I don't know how my armor keeps "slipping off," but I find I have to put that uniform back on often, too. You'd think I'd learn my lesson, but I'm so thankful for God's mercy and grace and forgiveness and protection. Reading Barb's post let me know, also, that God had a big message about "armor" for me, and I love when He gives me repeated reminders to make sure I get the message! Thanks for the comment!
ReplyDeleteI've always loved the creativity and vivid imagery in these verses. Being able to visualize a Bible truth helps me both remember it and apply it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for adding your unique slant via this post! I love going on these walks with you!
Oh, thank you so much, Candi, for going on these walks with me! That's so kind of you to say that. I have always been so infatuated with God's amazing creativity in nature, and it just really speaks to me when I take these walks. And, I'm like you - being the visual person that I am, I love the vivid imagery of His word in so many verses.
ReplyDeleteWow, I learned quite a bit about Armadillo's. Thank you for your wonderful teaching on one of God's little creatures. And the excellent teaching, analogy between the armadillo and us must having the daily need to put on God's armor. Awesome!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you for commenting! Because they wreck our yard, my biologist husband isn't fond of armadillos, though we love and appreciate all of God's critters!!! They do fascinate me, even if they dig up and destroy our lawn!! Blessings!
ReplyDelete