“BETSEEEEEE,” Barrett explains in the boyish pleading voice he only has for Betsy. “We have to get rid of these moths, I’ve never seen them this bad.” This was true. Our house had been invaded by these little flying-termite looking moths that found solace in all of our grain food. They had also taken a liking to landing in the food that I had prepped for dinner as well as flying into our bedroom, Betsy’s TV room and our office. It was grossing me out! We would find the cocoons and webs inside cereal boxes, cracker boxes, and spices. They had eaten through thick plastic bags that held cashews and other nuts and worked their eggs into closed jars and oatmeal packages. “We’re calling Terminex!”
Our kitchen was bombed with a white cloud of mega-moth killer while we waited anxiously and in hopeful expectation of complete extermination. A couple hours later we were free to enter the war zone and saw no moths. The next day was spent throwing out all the food and spices and wiping all the counters free of the pesky pests. Reminders of ant invested food and houses from Thailand filled my mind and with each opening of a container my face clinched up and my entire body felt dirty or laden with moths and their larvae. So far, the results have been fantastic but there is still a part of me that is scared to buy grain products and desire to store everything in the fridge!
I was struck by how much my life paralleled these moths. Things that I try to clean out on my own (bay leaves were supposed to be our cheap and easy cure for the moths…um, not so much) don’t work. I have areas in my life that creep into every so called compartment of my life. They squeeze into relationships, church, thoughts, actions, and school leaving eggs that will only mature to more sin. My selfishness, pride, and stubbornness lay eggs and larvae everywhere and I can’t even imagine how horrified it makes God feel…in fact, He can’t even look at it! Then comes the forgiveness and grace of the cross…the call is made to the expert when once again I realize that my bay leaf and swatting efforts are fruitless. My Savior died for these sins and after the cloud is cleared, when I remember what Christ did to conquer sin, I am once again filled with joy and peace. Will the moths come back, maybe here, definitely in my life, but oh the joy of knowing the number to the expert!