We had weird forms of entertainment when I was a kid. I suppose some of that comes from not having game boxes, cell phones, or even a TV with good reception. But…never the less – we found entertainment in many of our daily activities.
Sometimes, for whatever reason, the family or part of the family would find itself sitting on the concrete steps of our front doorway. It would start with one family member sitting on the step taking a rest from daily chores on the ranch. Another would walk by and plop down beside the first. Mom might hear us from the open kitchen window and not wanting to miss out, she would join the group. Whether it was just a couple of us or the entire family, we always had a ranch dog or two that wanted in on the action. They would nuzzle their way between us – hoping for attention in the form of pats and rubs.
It was typically warm weather when we perched on the porch steps. As we would pacify our canine’s nudges, we would often come across an engorged tick enjoying a satisfying juicy supper. If you’ve never seen an engorged tick it looks completely different than the tick that hasn’t been feeding on a host’s blood supply. Where as a non-eating dog tick is small with a wrinkly appearance, the body of an engorged dog tick can be almost 5/8 of an inch long with a smooth appearance. The color of the two changes from a reddish brown to an almost white or gray/blue body. She (the female is the only one that becomes engorged) buries her head beneath the skin surface. The tick’s mouth has reverse barbs that dig into the skin to hold it in place. But, don’t wince yet- no discomfort is detected by the dog because the tick injects an anesthetic solution into the surrounding area where they choose to get their dinner. (They are still not my heroes by any means, but this did make me feel a little better about ticks.) Hanging on like this, as if it is surely their last meal, they are often difficult to remove.
That’s when Dad would reach into his back bib overall pocket and pull out his pliers. Those little creatures would hold on even tighter when grasped with the jagged edges of the tool. Eventually they were no match for Dad’s strength and they would lose the battle.
Once the tick was off the host, the fun began. Remember, we were three ranch kids that came up with creative ways to have fun. What better way than to see how far we could make that blood fly in that fat tick when smashed beneath our shoe or pinched tight with a second pair of pliers. The whole idea doesn’t sound appealing to me now but it had its charm back in the day. (With all the research that’s been done on tick born or carried diseases, I’m sure parents today wouldn’t allow such behavior.)
When I think back on those days of sitting on the step and dealing with those determined ticks hanging onto their host with all they’ve got, I can’t help but think how great it would be if Christians had that amount of resolve to shine God’s light in this darkened world. If we were all to do that, it might not look dark at all – it might transform everything. We might see the darkness the way God sees it – the night shines like the day because darkness is as light to Him. (Psalm 139:12)
It’s easier to shine our lights during the Christmas season than it is at any other time. Maybe Christmas could be our time to start, with the intent of letting our light shine throughout the entire year. For my New Year’s resolution I think I’ll vow to increase my resolve.
Merry Christmas! Until next time – keep on readin’ and I’ll keep on writin’.