Bugs. Big, little, tiny… black, brown, grey, yellow, green, red. Most of the time they are ignored: usually we only take notice if the bugs are being a nuisance or damaging. Except spiders- they get a special reaction of “Eek!”
Part of the fun of gardening is finding little surprises. There is a whole domain of life which most of us never see. Being a gardener who enjoys photography is like starting a new chapter of a book every time I go outside. There are little dramas all round; tiny spiders in multiple colours hiding in the petals, building astonishing webs. An infestation of aphids suddenly blitzed by ladybirds. Bees and wasps competing for nectar. Flying executioners- dragonflies- hawking in the sunshine, darting after dinner, looking as scary as alien invaders!
Three interesting facts from the Royal Entomological Society:
1) Over one million species of insects have been discovered and described but it is estimated that there may be as many as 10 million species on earth.
2) There are approximately 1.4 billion insects for every person on Earth. The total weight of all the insects is about 70 times more than all the people.
3) It takes bees about 10 million nectar-collecting trips to make one pound of honey.
All those little bugs… and what a difference they make. Life would not be able to exist as we know it without them. We truly should appreciate the small things! One individual bug make not seem significant; but they add up, and are missed when we face a problem or lose an opportunity.
The same principle applies to our own lives- the small actions, the kindness we show, the self-sacrificing love that changes the world, these will be missed more than we might think. It can be tough keeping on being respectful, or kind, or brave. Yet we do make a difference. God watches us and takes note of the little faithful stuff as well as the big dramas.
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.” – Galatians 6 v9-10 (NIV)
The Reflectionary 