Can Your Web Endure the Storm?

There was a heavy rain storm the other night, a welcome reprieve from the heat and smoke of the last few weeks. As I was listening to the wind rattle anything not tied down, I glanced up at the top of the window where something was moving.

It was a HUGE spider curled up in the center of its web, hanging on as the gusts blew. My toes scrunched up and I recoiled a little into the couch, as is my typical reaction to spiders, but after a moment I relaxed into awe as I reflected on the beauty of the structure that was withstanding the weather.

This prompted a Google search!

The spider and its web in my window during the day.


Spider silk is robust, having a greater tensile strength than steel of the same weight, and an orb spider like the one in my window can weave a web twenty times its size in diameter. When building, it uses its own body as a measuring tool and senses a vibration change when a new strand sent floating on the breeze attaches to a solid object. And this amazing process has been happening for millions of years!

As is often the case, ordinary items have layers of beauty.

I started thinking about the web in the wind as a metaphor for what keeps us grounded and safe in the storm. What kinds of support do we intentionally build around us? Friends, family, career, health, finances, your social and personal life, and your attitude are all woven together in a latticed network.

How strong are the threads of these facets? Do you make an effort to rebuild when strands are broken or destroyed? What happens to you in the storms of life?

For me, some spokes of my web are stronger than others, and some are stressful and stretched tight. And that's okay as long as I don't neglect the weaker ones completely by making an effort to restore them as much as I can. Like the spider in the window, I've built a support system, invested time and energy, and maintained it so when the stormy winds come, I can trust it to hold true.

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Here a a couple of doorways from this week:

  • After the rain storm mentioned above moved through, I stepped out on my front porch and took in a deep breath of the refreshing air, one I cherished as the first in over a week since our valley has been smothered in wildfire smoke.
  • My husband brought home a dozen roses for our anniversary and one of the blooms unfolded its petals in a beautiful, symmetrical wonder of nature.

Comments

  1. Loved this one. Your comparisons between nature and your life are wonderful.

    ReplyDelete

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