Spiders are Friends?

Washington has more spiders then I have ever seen in my entire life. 

Last year we would walk along the road with our arms out stretched to catch the webs before they hit our face. 

This year a spider appeared by our front door and built a beautiful large web.

We were freaked out by her at first. 

But each night as we passed by her (we think it was a girl spider) we became a little more comfortable with her. 

One night we even saw a bug fly right into her web! 

She ate it so fast we quickly found another bug and watched her eat again. 

The people we live with cleaned up her web and took the door decoration she lived in down. 

When we came home we noticed the door decoration she lived in sitting in our apartment.

Fear came over us as we realized she could be in our part of the house. 

We told the people we lived with and they gave us some counsel. 

They told us a story of a young boy going into the mountains to prove himself. 

On the way down he meet a snake. 

The snake asked the boy to take him down the mountain.

The boy refused.

Earnestly the snake explained how he would freeze if the boy did not take him down to the village below. 

The boy still refused for fear the snake would bite him. 

The snake promised he would do no such thing. 

The boy finally agreed, picked up the snake, and carried him down the mountain.

Right before they reached the village the snake turned around and bit the boy. 

They boy asked "Why did you do that? You promised you wouldn't."

The snake responded "You knew who I was before you picked me up."

Sister Owens and I prayed to find the spider. 

A few days later we found her bigger then ever in the extra coat closet. 

The people we live with came down, kindly took her out and again knocked down all lingering web. 

Through this experience I realized how important it is to not become comfortable with things that can hurt us. 

There is no use in feeding the fire or thinking we are an exception to the rule. 

Spiders bite. Snakes bite. Sin bites. 

Becoming comfortable with empty promises does not take the consequences away. 

"No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and Mammon."