The offering

His confidence is severed, and his trust is a spider’s web.

Job 8:14

 

“Look it.” A small voice sweetly proclaimed as the young boy stood at my knee.

Without thinking I reached out to take his offering expecting to be handed a flower or a rock. At the very least I expected something friendly.

That wasn’t the case.

Just before the surprise in the boys hand switched from his fingers to my palm I got a good look at what he was trying to give me.

And jerked my hand away.

For there clutched in his little fingers was…

A spider.

It’s gray legs were twitching in the air, it’s oval shaped red body wiggling as much as the boys grip would allow. It was ugly. It was the stuff that causes chills to run up my spine. And it was almost in my hand.

Now I know that the spider in question wouldn’t bite or otherwise hurt me. Daddy long legs are harmless. But someone forget to tell my natural instincts that when one is almost handed to me. I did what anyone would have.

I recoiled.

And told that sweet boy to take his offering back outside.

That is what most people would do. Right? Not that I thought through my reaction. It just happened. One of those moments where reaction overrules all other thought. Before I had time to think about daddy long legs I yanked my hand away as my brain processed that it was a fat body with wiggly legs.

And…

I would do it again.

Because one thing I do not want in my hand is a spider. There is no such thing as a friendly arachnid. Or in this case a harvester- yes, I do know that daddy long legs aren’t really spiders. But there’s that saying that if it walks like a duck and it acts like a duck…

In this case it may as well be a spider.

And I don’t want those twitching legs on my skin. Even when I feel bad refusing the innocent offering of a very small child trying to share something he found fascinating. That’s something I can’t share his joy in.

And now…

I’m very careful when I hear the words ‘look it’.