Swamped by millipedes

My house has been infested with millipedes since my landscape contractor put in the wrong soil mix in my planters. He used "raw" compose instead of "treated" ones to fill the planters. I subsequently found out that "raw" compose is typically laden with loads of millipedes and millipede eggs.

At first, there were like 10 millipedes, usually appearing after the plants have been watered. My wife and I started killing them, just about 10 a day.

Before we knew it, there were 20, then 30 appearing every morning and night. Despite calling in the pest control company to deal with the problem, the millipede empire manifested in force. The deadliest pesticide merely took care of the crawlies for about 5 days. The poison could not destroy the eggs. The next generation continues the infestation.

Just last week, after a heavy downpour, a whole battalion of millipedes appeared out of the soil and crawled over the surrounding areas. It was just two days after the pest control company came and applied more poison. The pesticide did not work anymore.

I had no other choice but to squash those crawlies with my bare hands.

Over two days last week, I killed more than 600 millipedes with my bare hands. Yes, I counted as I squeezed each to death. I did not enjoy the experience at all - millipedes exude a terrible odour when they are squashed.

The pestilence really frustrated me. Anger rose against the contractor who supplied the wrong compose and then refuse to act to solve my problem. My wife calmed me down. Bitterness and unforgiveness are both bad for the soul.

Then the Lord revealed two things to me:

1.   The millipedes in the raw compose are like the little sins in our life that we did not fully deal with right at the onset. The compose is like the soil of our hearts. If we did not "treat" it properly, that is, put it into a furnace to burn away all the millipedes and their eggs, the impurities (sins) will come back in force to haunt us.

2.   That I was to forgive the contractor as the Lord has forgiven me - undeserving but yet forgiven.

I have forgiven the contractor, even though he is still not taking responsibility for his wrongful action. But it is now no more my problem - I have forgiven.

I am now more conscious about dealing with little sins and making sure that I do not allow any of such to take root in my heart. I refuse to allow an infestation of sins that will surely cause me lots.

¹¹ In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. ¹² Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. ¹³ Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness..." Rom 6:11-13a

Indeed, the Lord is good that even in dealing with the 1000s of millipedes that have plagued my wife and I, our trust in Him remains. He reigns!

God bless.

Steven