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I Scream Like a Girl

Not all the time. Just when bats fly through my living room, or when mice stare at me from my dashboard while I am driving 60 MPH.

[Bats flying under the moon]

 I also scream when Daniel walks into a room behind me. OK, I scream like a girl a lot. But I have a friend who keeps her cool around things that make me scream.

Ginny Merritt is a dear, gentle-hearted friend who probably doesn’t scream at all. Once she swooped in to rescue me from something weighing less than an ounce and had unblinking beady eyes. That’s a story for another day.

Her curiosity, sense of humor, and calm demeanor among other things, makes her friendship such a blessing. She recently sent me this story and with her permission, I share it with you.

 Company on My Plate

Sunday evening after a long day of travel followed by a funeral, I sat down at a table in the church fellowship hall. Across from me was my pastor-husband. Before me was an oval cardboard plate of country cooking. We were tired and hungry.

As I picked up my knife and fork to cut a meatball, I noticed a small movement on the edge of that ivory oval. I paused to look closely. There was the movement again, a tiny spider, no bigger than the point of a new crayon.

I watched in awe as his teensy legs arced around the edge of the plate. He paused. He changed direction. He stayed along the edge.

So, I resumed my fork-and-knife task. As I ate, I kept vigil over the spider’s travels. He circumnavigated the plate three-fourths of the way around clockwise, then changed direction and went halfway back counterclockwise. He never went near my pasta or fruit or cheese. He trekked on the edge.

[Hands holding plate with taco]

And he was a cheery apple green. After he had swung a dozen times around one way or the other, a friend sat down beside me. We greeted one another with the usual banter, then I pointed out my miniscule guest to him. He kindly asked me if the spider was bothering me.

“Oh, no,” I replied, “he’s entertaining me.”

And entertain me he did. I wondered if perhaps God had created him to orbit a Granny Smith apple. Where did he belong? Why was he here?

Joanna came to gather up the used plates and silverware. As she smiled and reached for my plate, I put my hands over it gently to slow down her reach. I explained, “Joanna. I have a tiny guest on my plate. He needs to go outside.”

Her eyebrows arched as she leaned down to inspect the small arachnid.

“Oh,” she said. “Well, yes. I will take him outside.”

And I believe she did.

May God bless Joanna.

And God bless my little apple green spider who cheered me at the end of a long day.

Ginny Merritt- Author                                                                    

Ginny writes to help children learn about God. Three of her books are retellings of Bible stories from a child’s point of view. They are A Ram for Isaac, regarding Abraham’s call to obedience; The Window in the Wall, based on the fall of Jericho; and Mending the Tailor, another angle on Jonah’s mission to Nineveh.

A fourth book, Ed’s Christmas Miracle, recounts the true tale of a rural New York boy facing a daunting challenge to drive his father's Farmall plow in a snowstorm.

It’s hard to pick a favorite.

If you are interested in her books, let me know, and I will put you in contact with Ginny, or order online.

Ginny loves reading, crafting, cooking, and baking. In addition to writing for children, she is a speaker for Christian Women’s Connection luncheons and church groups. She and her husband, Ray, live in upstate New York. Their adult children and grandsons live close enough to detect the aroma of baking bread.

Ginny and Maureen