Three a.m. wake-up a couple of nights ago, sensing the
crunch of tick jaws on the back of my knee, right on the crease. There is a profusion
of these tiny predators this year and this one reached a spot I just couldn’t.
Fortunately Don was up, too. The credit-card size tick remover wouldn’t work on
one so tiny, in such a space. Tweezers were ineffective. He went for a needle
and a magnifying glass.
Doug, hearing the kerfuffle, came in (no doubt instantly
regretting it…). His eyes clearer, his hand steadier, he managed to extract
most, if not all, of the tiny parasite. It was not the way he planned to open
his birthday celebrations…
I am left with a persistent itch and a red spot. Hopefully,
I am not left with Lyme’s disease!!
There’s a treatment for cats and dogs to deter ticks and
make them drop off. I’m considering using it on myself…
Life is littered with ticks, some which do nothing more than
drain emotional strength and create an itch, others which impart a toxicity in
our emotional or spiritual life. A word spoken harshly or without thought, in
haste or in exhaustion, can pollute relationships and spoil generosity of
spirit and kindness of heart.
James, Jesus’ brother, had a lot to say about words. ‘No-one
can tame the tongue,’ he wrote. ‘It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.’
A nasty tick. May God help us all to tame our tongues.
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