#lessonsfromgrandma

House guests means getting up early to make fresh biscuits! #lessonsfromgrandma @stacygbeal

Every centavo counts! As my grandma always said, you can spend heaven and earth for something worthwhile but never waste even a single centavo on something worth nothing. #lessonsfromgrandma

So there I was in my typical morning routine of visiting the longdrop, which after a year of steady use has become quite short really. For those of you who may be unaccustomed to the longdrop, it's our African version of an outhouse. Typically about 6 meters or so deep and with cement overtop and a hole to squat over with a privacy shield of cornstalks. Anyways, there I was in my morning routine. Little did I know that today I would be surprised with a lil entertainment of the National Geographic variety. As I was doing my business, I watched a fly get caught up in a spider's web and witnessed the whole ordeal of how a spider makes its meal of a day (or maybe several, I don't know how much food a spider requires or can gain from a fly). It was fascinating how at first the spider began by strengthening its web. It was not hurried by anything. It kept a steady pace and just continued towards the end goal of eating the fly. After making the web stronger so that it might survive the fly's attempts to flea, the spider began focusing on one if the wings of the fly. Eventually that wing became one with the web an the fly's wing-flapping attempts to flea were now just shaking the body from that wing that was now attached to the web. Around that time I just began to admire the patience of the spider. It was clear at this point that the fly had no escape, just as it was also clear that the spider was in no rush. As I'm watching the spider slowly an carefully prepare its dinner I thought about the days I spent at grandmas house watching her diligently prepare a roast for us. How she taught me that the difference between a filling roast and a mouth wateringly delectable roast is patience. Letting the roast cook for the ENTIRE day in the oven. Filling the house with smells of carrots, potatoes, onions, black angus beef, and a hint of pepper. Just like the spider had prepared it's trap for the fly and diligently continued working towards what must be a fairly tasty meal for him. Patience was the key. Well, I began to think even deeper, as I've been struggling through some things in my own life. Allow the web to become synonymous with life in general now and I'll say I inserted myself as a spider of sorts. I began wondering about the crap that flies into our web of life. The troubles that come our way that seem to rattle the cage and make us unsure if our web will break or hold through those unexpected troubles. Perhaps here we can learn a lesson from the spider and begin to just work towards building up our web and facing those troubles with patience and diligence. Maybe some things will seem too big for our web to handle and we'll have to rebuild. I don't know, maybe we'll need help from the Big Man watchin us while He takes a squat on the longdrop, maybe we'll need the camaraderie of a good friend or mentor, or maybe we just need remember to be patient through the struggles like grandma taught us. Cause if the end is roast beef. Like Grandma's roast beef, then I am all in. Let's spin our web, help a neighbor out, love a stranger and maybe we'll all make it to the other side in a lot better shape. Anyways, that's a lot more than I expected from my trip to the longdrop this morning. Peace and love, dear friends and fellow tumblrs...