It's been a little over two months since I have moved into my new home. I am not fully unpacked, with the basement full of boxes, my office stuffed with bags, and my room closest spilling over with clothes and shoes that haven't found a place yet. The whole order of things was driving me absolutely nuts! I felt overwhelmed and anxious to be completely settled. It started eating me up, not being able to find simple things. Eventually, I began to drive myself mad, so I took a break from the whole thing. I replaced that time and energy with walking and reading and trying to remain calm.

Living within two miles of a reserve, I began to notice all the different types of nature around me. I see big, bright, beautiful butterflies (didn't even know they were still around). I see a pair of hawks circling the trees, bats darting through the evening sky, I hear crickets. Last week, I stepped out of my car and saw a praying mantis on my back door window sill; it was tiny, minding its own business. I hadn't seen a praying mantis in quite some time, but I didn't pay it much attention. This week, on my front door, another praying mantis was silently resting.Wow, two within one week.

I then began to think about it and didn't find it to be such a coincidence. I started to think about how awesome God is, and how He can and will speak to us through His creation; and so my search began. I began to look up the symbolism of a praying mantis, this humble creature who intentionally depicts a stature of prayer. This is what I found:

The mantis comes to us when we need peace, quiet and calm in our lives. Usually the mantis makes an appearance when we've flooded our lives with so much business, activity, or chaos that we can no longer hear the still small voice within us because of the external din we've created.- http://www.whats-your-sign.com

If this is/was not a complete description of my life a few weeks ago, even up until the moment I saw the mantis, I would be telling a lie. I was all over the place, messing in my own business and not tending enough to God's. I was so concerned with making certain decisions and getting business ventures off the ground, I couldn't hear God speak or direct me in the right way. I even lost a dear loved one, and didn't pray to God for peace, during the pain I was encountering. I haven't seen the praying mantis since that day, but I strongly believe God was speaking through His creation. I am not a fan of bugs, so the spotting of this little guy definitely caught my attention and spoke to my spirit.

I am trying to be more conscience of my time and how I use it in my relationship with the Father. It is so easy to get caught up in our own doings and mislead ourselves away from the direction and blessing of God. Our prayer should be, that our spirit be so sensitive that we are able to hear, see, and feel God speak to us through conventional and unconventional ways. God speaks explicitly through His holy word, this we know, but He also speaks to us through various other channels, like the animals and the nature around us.


If you are seeking a closer relationship with the Father, pray to have an open spirit to receive His word, direction, and guidance. Pray to be able to hear Him in the wind, through, the trees or animals; listen for the still small voice inside of you. The earth is the Lord's and all those that dwell within. Slow down and listen. Seek God, and He will speak. The Father longs to commune with you, and He desires to speak with us, but it is up to us to receive Him in whatever manner He chooses to communicate. "By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, And by the breath of His mouth all their host. He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap; He lays up the deeps in storehouses. Let all the earth fear the Lord; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him. For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast." Psalm 33:6-9