I hate spiders.

About two weeks ago, I noticed a large spider in my room. It was above my bed, right where the wall meets the ceiling. Something had to be done to remedy this situation.

I pulled everything off my bed, including the blankets, so I wouldn’t tangle my feet in anything when I climbed up to kill the spider. While I was piling everything on the floor, my 2-year-old niece wandered in. At her puzzled look, I pointed to the wall. “There’s a spider. Do you see it?”

Anna spotted the arachnid and summed up my feelings with a simple expression: “Bye-bye.”

“That’s right, I’m going to make the spider go bye-bye.”

I retrieved a shoe, mounted the bed, and took a deep breath. My hatred of spiders barely exceeds my fear of killing spiders. It’s like they know, you know? And if you miss, surely they’ll take it out on you. Somehow.

With careful but purposeful movements, I struck my shoe against the wall. I waited a moment and pulled my shoe back. The spider dropped—and so did I, jumping back and sitting down on the mattress with a little scream. Was the spider dead or alive?

Anna was there instantly. She patted my arm. “It’s okay, it’s okay.”

It really was okay, because I found the spider and it was indeed dead. Aunt Erin had successfully killed that big, bad spider!

Anna’s consolation immediately reminded me of a Bible verse. “…that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted…” (II Corinthians 1:4) Anna is only 2 years old, but she already knows that when someone is upset, they need a gentle touch and some reassuring words. How often have we done that for her? Now she’s able to comfort others in the same manner.

Christmas is only a few days away, and it’s a time when we think about tidings of comfort and joy. The words of the carol originate from the angel’s announcement of Jesus’ birth in Luke 2:10-11: “…Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.”

There is no greater comfort or joy in this world than knowing that God sent His only Son into the world to be born, live a sinless life, die on the cross for our sins, and rise again on the third day. If we have received this comfort of Him, I hope we are spreading it to others. This can be a difficult time of year. If you know someone who needs a gentle touch and some reassuring words right now, I hope you’ll reach out to them. Not everything can truly be made okay this side of Heaven, but because of Jesus, things are a whole lot more okay than they would be otherwise.

The full text of that II Corinthians passage tells us more about the source of our comfort: “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.” 

He is the comfort. He is the joy. He is the tidings we have to bring to the world. He is what our own hearts need.

May you have a wonderful Christmas!

Anna and Auntie at a Christmas parade the day after the spider killing incident.

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