Last year I took a day off and went out to a huge lake on the outskirts of town. I took a small cooler with pop and a sandwich, and I also brought my Bible, a notebook, and a pair of radio headphones. I planned to make a day out of it. I took a long leisurely walk around the lake and I really enjoyed it. The water was peaceful. The air was refreshing. And I couldn’t wait to eat a little lunch and dig into my Bible for a little reflection time.
By the time I got to the pavilion (no need to rough it too much), I was pretty tired. I opened a can of Diet Pepsi and chugged most of it. I ate my sandwich and I opened my Bible and notebook. I already had a theme I wanted to study. The wind was blowing pretty hard, so I used my cell phone and Palm Pilot as paperweights to keep my Bible and notebook open.
That’s when I seen it. A spider scurried out from under the picnic table and directly toward me. I’m not afraid of spiders, but I sure don’t want one crawling on me. And when this particular spider disappeared among my things, I wasn’t thrilled. I finally found him and I squished him. As I attempted to get refocused, a bee buzzed by my head.
I dislike bees more than spiders. I was attacked by bees as a little boy one day as I helped my grandpa rebuild a rock wall. I ended up with multiple stings and I haven’t been a fan of bees since. In fact, I’ve been known to move rather quickly when a bee starts messing with me. Some would say that I run. I would just call it a brisk walk.
But when this particular bee starting doing his thing in MY pavilion, that was the last straw. I packed my things and headed for the wonderful confines of an air-conditioned car that was completely void of anything that would crawl on me or sting me. I came home and did my studying there, but it wasn’t the same. Probably because I was so looking forward to the peace and tranquility of the outdoors.
For some reason, I’m planning to give it a shot again this year. Maybe at the end of next week if I can get caught up on my work. I’ll have to let you know who wins—me or the bugs.
