Marching On

I took a break from the treadmill of life to sit on my porch steps and drink my coffee this morning.  It's very warm here today and it was nice to just let the air move gently about me and watch the world.

Looking around, I noticed an army of ants marching diagonally across my porch.

Nothing new there; ants march around all the time.  It was just an ant supply train moving speedily back and forth from their nest.  I was fascinated and watched them for quite awhile.  They were so small, yet so bus!  I searched around and found their nest in my flower garden, near the roses.  I was relieved to see they weren't living in my house.

Yes, they can be pests if they invade your home looking for sweets.  But they are also important.  Ants keep the earth healthy by aerating the soil and reducing pest insect populations.  They are also eaten in certain parts of the world, so they are a source of nutrition.  Useful little beings, aren't they?

But what was most important to me was the realization of how much life goes on around us that we don't notice.  It is easy to overlook the ants because they are so tiny; it's easy to miss that supply train unless it is right under our noses.

Like most living things, we are too busy to see what is really going on behind the scenes, the business of life.  We are too busy marching in our own supply train and that also is life.  God made all living things that way.  As humans, however, we have the luxury to understand.  So take a moment and look at the world around you and all the living things that share the Earth with us.  Do them honor, then give thanks for that understanding and march on!