Caution: The squeamish should read this at their own risk!

"Be holy, as I am holy"

1 Peter 1:16

We had an impromptu homeschool science lesson today.  We've got some standing water in a trashcan in the side yard, and we realized that there were some unidentified wormy-looking things in it.  White grubs, all clustered together, floating in the water.  It was really disgusting, in a fascinating sort of way.... Biology is like that...

I came inside, and said enthusiastically to my Awesome Girl, "Wanna see something gross??"  She loves science, but she does not love gross.  So she asked a few questions to get a better idea of what I was talking about ("is it a dead animal?" etc.) then cautiously agreed.  Then I went to my Amazing Boy and said enthusiastically, "Wanna see something gross??"  He said enthusiastically, "Sure!"  And off the three of us went.

See?  Gross.

It took a bit of research online, but I finally discovered that they are called red-tailed maggots.  They're the larvae of something called the drone fly.  When I looked at the picture of a mature drone fly, I thought it was odd that I'd never seen anything like that around my house, when clearly, this is a climate they like.  But then I thought, well, maybe I have seen them around, but I didn't know it. 

Here's why:

Drone Fly ~ from Bugguide.net

Honeybee ~ From Wikipedia

Separated at birth, right?  If I ever did see a drone fly around my house, don't you think I just assumed it was a bee?

And that got the kids and me talking.  The drone fly benefits from the fact that it looks like a bee.  It's protected because it looks so much like something that other animals (and humans) fear.  It looks like something strong, and that keeps predators away.

That reminded my Awesome Girl of the Viceroy Butterfly.  The beautiful Viceroy, which looks like the beautiful Monarch, is protected by that similarity.

Monarch - from Britannica Online Encyclopedia

Viceroy ~ From the Britannica Online Encyclopedia

The Monarch feeds on toxic milkweed plants, which means that any bird that eats it will get sick.  Birds know this ~ although I think they have to find out the hard way ~ so they stay away from the Monarch.  And the Viceroy.  The viceroy looks like something to be feared, and that keeps predators away. 

How much do you look like Jesus?  If He is your Lord and Savior, and if you are walking with Him and growing in Him, then you are growing to look more like Him.   And that's good ~ for you.  The more you are like Him, the more you are protected from our adversary, the devil, who walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.  After all, satan tempted even Jesus Himself.  So when we are tempted, our protection will be in responding as Jesus did.  In all things, in all ways, we need to be like Him.

~ "He who says he abides in Him 

       ought to walk as He walked" ~

1 John 2:6