the ants go marching one-by-one.

I am somewhat timid about asking you the question that I am about to ask you--mostly because it will indefinitely expose myself as one who spends way too much time being easily amused by things that most likely would not amuse the "normal" human being-----but then again, I suppose that no one is really "normal"; so, here it goes:

Have you ever sat and watched a colony of ants build an ant-hill?

To take that further: have you ever watched a colony of ants re-build an anthill after it has been altered or destroyed in some way?

I have. In fact, I don't think I could even begin to count the number of times that I have spent a part of my day watching this incredible process that takes place in Mother Nature. Perhaps there are some of you that could attest to the same thing. But for those of you who cannot, allow me to paint you a simple, visual picture of what happens:

Imagine that you are a worker ant. Your job, along with the other 13,000 worker ants in your colony, is to gather dirt, clay, and whatever else you are able to carry from the far corners of your environment and bring them back to a central location where you will place what you have found strategically on what we will call "the hill." (The hill is a nesting ground for your colony and is used to protect those that are closest to you). From sun-up to sun-down you work to do your absolute best in gathering the necessary materials for your colony's sanctuary and you know that your efforts contribute greatly to the overall well-being of those around you. 

One day, out of nowhere and completely to your surprise, a large animal comes walking toward the hill and steps directly on top of it, causing it to completely lose its form and protective capabilities. You watch the whole thing happen from a short distance away and cannot help but feel frustrated, angry, and confused. 

But it is in this exact moment that you have a series of very interesting decisions to make: Do you march forward and begin re-building the hill, particle by particle of dirt and clay until it is bigger, stronger, and more durable? Or do you sit there, thinking about how much effort you and your fellow workers had put into building the hill only to see it partially or even completely destroyed? Do you swear to not let anything get in the way of your success as a worker ant? Or do you sit and complain about what had happened, blaming all of your "wasted effort" on the animal that walked by?


I hope that you can try and put yourself in the worker ant's place in order to truthfully answer the questions that I posed in the fore-mentioned pictorial explanation. What would you do? How would you react? What would be your first thought be after watching your life's work become destroyed?

Allow me to quickly explain how this natural phenomenon can apply to you and me. We are all worker ants, working to build a protective, useful, and symmetrical ant hill. You can compare the hill to anything that you want: a friendly community, an inspiring education system, a happy marriage, a healthy lifestyle...you name it! For the sake of this post though, I would like to compare the hill to one's own character.

Whether you realize it or not, with each decision that we make (or don't make) and every action that we commit (or don't commit), we are slowly shaping our eternal character. Maybe you are the type of person that works hard, makes well-thought-out decisions, and does everything in your power to shape the character that you know will last through the storms of life. Or maybe you are not that type of person at all. Regardless of your current, personal life-habits there is one thing that we all have in common in our journey to build our ant hill; and that is: adversity will come! Animals will walk over it, rains will flood it, winds will sweep it, and little kids will burn it with magnifying glasses. But like the worker ants in the story, it is following those very moments that we ask ourselves: Will I quit and give up all hope? Or will I work twice as hard to accomplish twice as much?

• In a worldly sense: Bombs may explode at marathon finish lines, fertilizer factories may demolish everything in their paths, school shootings may take the lives of many, hurricanes may destroy cities, etc. but we must come together as a nation and work together to not let these forms of adversity destroy our free and God-given country.

• In a spiritual sense: "persecutions may rage, mobs may combine, armies may assemble, calumny may defame, but the truth of God will go forth boldly, nobly, and independent, till it has penetrated every continent, visited every clime, swept every country, and sounded in every ear, till the purposes of God shall be accomplished, and the Great Jehovah shall say the work is done."

• In a personal sense: jobs may be lost, hearts may be broken, dreams may seem shattered, etc. but we must brush ourselves off, commit to re-commitment, and become stronger, truer, and more developed builders of our ant hills, whatever they may be. 

I can promise you that if we face adversity head-on with a smile, callused hands, and a willing heart, each time we re-build our ant hills they will be bigger, stronger, and more able to withstand the blows that life unexpectedly brings.






Here's to BIG lessons learned from tiny creatures.



Cheers.