Prickled Balls of Spikes

Prickled Balls of Spikes

In the inky black of darkness, echoing across the glassy lake in front of our home, and bouncing off the surrounding hills, was a loud, abrupt, metallic clang. It awoke us from our peaceful slumbering. Again the sound pierced the night with eeriness. Startled, my husband Michael, leaped from the bed as the penetrating noise continued to reverberate around the paddocks. Dispelling the darkness with a flood of light, he strode purposefully outside to investigate the ruckus. He found our small, protective dog on his chain excitedly by his kennel. The dog kennel was a home made job that served it’s purpose well. Pieces of corrugated iron had been screwed together and hastily painted in a rusty brown. It sat under a shady gum tree in a  dusty place of dry, bush grasses near the house. Suddenly, with a lunge, our dog flung himself with a frenzy around the side of the dog kennel, his chain clattering loudly in a bedlam of noise against the corrugated iron. Upon further inspection, my husband discovered an echidna busily digging away under the back of the kennel in search of ants and entirely ignoring the panting black face of our crazed dog.

Echidna’s are an Australian mammal that are also classified  as a monotreme. Monotremes lay eggs and feed their young with milk. The female echidna digs a burrow with her long sharp front claws. Inside her snug home she curls up and lays a single, leathery egg into a pouch ,where, in ten days time, will hatch a hairless, spike free baby puggle. The cute, little puggle, licks milk from his mother’s skin. When the spines start to grow the puggle leaves the pouch but continues to drink milk from his mother until it’s six months old.The echidna’s body is covered in dark brown hair and on his back and sides are sharp hard spines. They only eat ants and termites. There, behind our dog kennel, with his  beak like snout, an echidna was actively whipping out his long thin, sticky tongue and consuming large black ants.

The mystery was solved, the dog settled down and we knew we had an echidna living in the area. This was an educational opportunity not to be missed. It isn’t often you can observe an echidna in the wild. For several days we saw him waddling from side to side in his slow gait, his excellent sense of smell leading him to ants, which his tongue quickly conveyed within to be eaten. The echidna has no teeth just hard pads inside his mouth which he uses to grind the ants up before delectably swallowing them. If we got too close to him, in self defence, he would curl himself up into a tight ball of sharp spiky needles. Other times he could dig so fast that he seemed to disappear into the dust, leaving only a rounded ball of prickled spines. He was a master at self protection.

After observing the echidna, we decided to have a closer inspection and learn some more. As Michael reached down to pick up him up, he immediately contorted into a prickly sphere. Getting his hands under the sides of the echidna, and getting spiked in the process, Michael was able to hold him while he then unfurled his body. There staring at us, with his beady little black eyes and his long beaked nose and his a tiny little tail, was a wild echidna. We brought him inside and placed him in the an old disused baby play pen, to observe him more closely. The echidna’s first desire was to try to frantically bury himself in the bottom of the play pen, spines of protection glaring at us, before slowly straightening out and peering around at us. We enjoyed our short time of being able to touch him and watch him before we released the echidna happily back into the wild.

I wonder if God looks at me and sees my emotional responses to life’s bruises and neglects in much the same way as an echidna responds? When hurtful or stinging words come my way do I emotionally hide? When my heart is heavy, am I busy shutting people out with my exterior of self protection, that prevents the healing rays of God’s love to penetrate deep into my soul? Do I curl up in self pity, withdrawing within myself? Am I busy disguising my feelings of thinking I am  unloveable, unappreciated, unwanted or misunderstood, behind a facade? Am I prickly towards others? Am I an “Echidna Christian” busy defending myself , protecting myself or do I run to God, my strong and sure defence? Do I allow Him to be my refuge, my defender and my strength? 

Prov 18:10 The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runs into it, and is safe.

Ps 144:2 He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge

Ps 31:20 You hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the conspiracies of man; You keep them secretly in a shelter from the strife of tongues.