Kakadu Daydream

What does Kakadu burning and the behaviour of ants have to say about Easter?

Here in Kakadu National Park as I write this, fires are burning around us, a practice used by the aboriginal people for centuries in the dry season to burn away dead Spinifex grass and keep the land safe from uncontrolled bush fires. In these cooler months the fires move through quickly, having little effect on the wildlife and the smoky effect in the air makes great sunsets, the reason why we’re here.

This morning I sat watching the effect fire had on an ant hill that had been built up against a fireplace in the campsite where we stayed… and the fire was burning.

For a long time these ants went about their activities unaware of the danger right at their doorstep. As their dwelling began to heat up they became aware of the problem and walked around in circles with no understanding of what to do.

We can learn much from the ant about diligence, determination, being committed to a task, but this morning the ants were in total confusion, with no plan of escape. Frantically they worked to bring out eggs and other treasures from their nest, only to turn around and return them into the same place they’d rescued them from.

They had much passion and determination to make things right but their decision to build their nest against the fireplace resulted in their place of security becoming a place of danger.

It was clear to me that they’d chosen the wrong place to build their home but because I’m not an ant I was powerless to warn them that they need to build their nest on safer ground.

Like the ants we can have right intentions. We can be passionate about what we’re doing, make decisions based on what we understand, work very hard to achieve our goal, but that doesn’t always guarantee that we’re successful.

Sometimes we make spur of the moment decisions that cause pain for us or others and when we look back we wish we’d made better choices. The decisions we make bring consequences and the consequences can bring unwelcome stress.

Fortunately for us, unlike the ant, there is someone we can go to when we need help. It involves us making a free choice. God could have stayed at a distance and left us to stumble through our own mistakes without any connection to Him but that’s not the heart of God. He sent Jesus to become a man and pay the price for our mistakes on the cross so we can see that there’s a way out for us.

God I don’t understand why you loved me enough to send Jesus to earth then all the way to the cross so that I could be free from myself and my wrong choices but I’m so glad you did.

How do we become free from our wrong choices? When we accept Jesus into our heart and ask Him to take over the reigns of us, we make choices based on spiritual guidance from God. Following God’s guidance means we make the right choices and live a life without regret.

There are always consequences for making wrong choices but Jesus freely offers us forgiveness, a straight path out of our circumstances, a new and better way to live and life far better than we could dream of.

God I’m forever grateful for your unfailing love. Amen

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© Copyright 2012 Elaine Costin All Rights Reserved