I REALLY HATE SPIDERS!!!

Jun 17, 2005

So I am getting ready for bed last night and I am walking through the kitchen on the way to check to make sure the doors are locked—you know, sort of the man thing to do. Then I notice there is a spider on my kitchen counter…and my evening took a turn for the worse.

I know what some of you are thinking, “Perry, it’s only a spider.” I am sorry if you and I can’t see things the same way…but it is not just a spider. It is a terrible creature with multiple eyes and eight legs that has been created by the devil as a tool of terror in my life. You might have seen it and dismissed it—but it nearly caused me to lose control of my bodily functions.

So I went for the kitchen weapon of choice—paper towels. (Make no mistake—if I had been carrying a shotgun that spider would have gotten it—I’m not kidding!) As I attempted to slay this beast from the pit of hell—it ran…and I ran. I’m not sure if it screamed—but I did. (God had to have been laughing at me…a 6’6” guy in his boxer shorts running around his house screaming because of a spider.)

I mustered up the courage to try to find it…and then I realized that it was gone. I began a frantic search for the tiny beast—I mean I looked everywhere—with caution of course. I even went as far as looking through the kitchen cabinets…but he was hiding from me…and laughing, I am sure of it.

Well today I am making it my goal to search for this thing…and kill it! I am not resting until this thing goes splat and then takes a spiral journey down my toilet! He does not belong in my house…this is my house—I pay the mortgage around here—he has chosen to invade the wrong place…and for that he will pay dearly.

I know this story has been long so far—but it really does have a point. The spider does not belong in my house—and my passion is to get the freeloading insect out of here.  That way I can actually sleep in peace tonight and not fear that he is going to find some of his freaky friends and then terrorize me while I am asleep.

I think the same can be said for my life and journey as a leader. At one time there were tons of things in my life that freaked me out…things that I did not enjoy doing that I thought I had to do. I was a walking example of what stress can do to a person…and I did not seem to enjoy life as much because I was always trying to avoid these “leadership spiders” that seemed to be all over me.

But I made the decision a few years back to get rid of these things—to be passionate about getting them out of my life because they did not belong. God did not create me to be a jack of all trades and a master of none. He designed me for a reason and a purpose and I realized that I was never going to discover it if I didn’t learn to say no to some things so I could say yes to the things I really loved and enjoyed.

So I searched out the things that I did not enjoy doing—and I did this with passion. I am not an organizer. I am not good at counseling people. I am not good at visiting the hospital. (I get really nervous!) I am not good at having long phone conversations. I am not good at doing anything that causes me to have to be still for more than five minutes.

So I made it a point to get rid of these things. Don’t get me wrong…I didn’t throw them to the wayside and say, “Oh well—I guess people who need those things will just have to get over it!” NO! You see—those things were “spiders” to me—things I feared…but during this process I made another amazing discovery—not everyone is afraid of spiders.

(There are actually some strange people on this planet that have pet spiders…big ones…in cages. If this is you then I would like you to know that Jesus loves you—I do not. You are sick and twisted and you need to repent and go smash that thing right now—with a sledgehammer!)

The things I did not like—the things I feared—the things that made me want to stay in bed and not face the day—they were actually the joy of other people. There are people who actually like to organize things—they love visiting the hospital and counseling people—they are not afraid of spiders! So I sought them out, surrounded myself with them, and delegated the tasks to them…and now those tasks are performed at a level of excellence that I could have never achieved—ever.

Pray for me today as I seek out this spider…I will not rest until he is destroyed. And I will pray for you—that you will be able to let the Lord help you to narrow your focus so that you can discover and develop your strengths and delegate your weaknesses.

Have a great weekend!