September 11, 2013 - I'm a Fruit Fly

I don't know about you but this year has been the YEAR of the fruit fly. This is certainly not the first time I have been annoyed by them, but their appearance is usually created by a lack of sanitation or the sweetness that comes from rotting fruit. Isn't it interesting that the longer the fruit sits out, the older it gets, the more sugar it produces and the more fruit flies it gathers? Bananas and peaches are especially bad to follow this pattern and draw a crowd. While I am very good with a fly swatter at terminating the life of a fly (that's another great story), fruit flies...not so much. Those little guys are fast like Nascars and tiny like poppy seeds. However, they are HUGE in aggravation. Am I the only one? And this summer they have grown to a population of 9 million due to the heavy rain I have been told. I had our maintenance man contact the exterminator because the little critters had a notion to migrate from the kitchen to all our offices and the main building. Not a great idea. It's one thing to endure a problem in the kitchen where I can justify some old food and the place where they can "hang out." My office, however, is NOT a happy home for fruit flies. Have you ever been deep in a pastoral conversation with your best pastor attention focused on someone only to be distracted by fruit flies? Two weeks ago I was listening intently and fighting so hard not to swat at these little guys who kept zooming across my face. Finally one swat....two....grab a paper and keep listening. UGH! The exterminator informed us that most of their clients are calling this summer with the same issue. People all over Facebook were suggesting home remedies that never really worked either. The gentleman who came brought these fruit fly traps and boy did they work. They are filled with a sweet substance and a sticky paper. The flies are attracted to the scent and then no matter how hard they try they cannot be released from the paper. We had three out in one room and the papers were covered. I thought about last night how strong an attraction sugared items are for many of us. They were absolutely my downfall. I could not walk past the bakery portion of Publix without licking the window. I would much prefer a cinnamon roll to a regular meal - well, actually, if I was substituting it for a meal I would NEED TWO. I guess I am a fruit fly. Are you? The bad thing is that that substituting a cinnamon roll for a meal was so destructive to my body. I always vowed to do better tomorrow but tomorrow I became a fruit fly again. Where was the sugar? I found it and it found me! My blood sugar level was hanging over 200 daily and I was a mess. Finally, I got stuck to a fruit fly pad and died. Yep! I could no longer search for daily sugar nor could I be free to travel to wherever to feed my addiction. In my dying to sugar, I gained life to my body. As many of you know, I still have "sweets" occasionally, but I make them all. Someone asked recently how I planned to live the rest of my life without sugar. My reply, "If I continued my past journey addicted to sugar, I would have NO LIFE." Can you see yourself in this picture in a small way? We cannot substitute sugared items for our healthy meals. If you haven't had your sugar levels checked recently you should. Diabetes is rampant in this country and especially in our children. Love and encouragement to each of you today, PK.