This is National Picnic Day.

The sun shines bright as a gentle breeze rustles the leaves overhead. You spread the blanket on the soft grass and place the basket in the middle. Moments later, with paper plate in hand and seated on the blanket’s edge, you reach for Mom’s famous fried chicken. But suddenly your leg begins to tickle, so you stop and glance down. There they are—two ants crawling up your calf. Yuck!

Picnics and ants seem to go together. They come with the territory, literally. If we want to enjoy being outside, in nature, then we have to expect nature’s visitors and pests.

Some folks might remind us that the ants were there first and that they have a right to a picnic, too (even on your leg). But crawling and buzzing (and biting) creatures usually don’t fit into our picture of an ideal event.

Actually, in this world nothing’s perfect. Stuff breaks, mosquitoes bite, clothes wear out, hurricanes hit, people let us down, sickness comes, and ants interrupt picnics. And all that imperfection can be frustrating. But that’s a reality we have to live with.

At the beginning, the world was perfect—God created it that way. But when Adam and Eve disobeyed God, sin entered the world, and everything changed. So everyone since then entered a “fallen” world. Today’s verse tells about the terrible effects of sin. It’s not a pretty picture.

Eventually, the Bible tells us, God will remake the world, and it will be perfect again (2 Peter 3:13). Won’t that be great!

Until then, we’ll have to deal with sin and faults and mistakes in ourselves and others and with splinters, blisters, insect bites, weeds, spoiled milk, broken toys, . . . .

But the future is bright! And every day can be “picnic day.”

When Adam sinned, sin entered the entire human race. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. (Romans 5:12)

To Do

Take some time off and go on a picnic with a friend. When you see an ant, thank God for his beautiful creation and for his promise of a new heavens and new earth with no sin or decay.

Also on this day . . .

1873—Susan B. Anthony was fined $100 for attempting to vote for a U.S. President.

1942—Paul McCartney of the Beatles was born.

1983—Dr. Sally Ride became the first American woman in space as she traveled aboard the space shuttle Challenger.

From Betsy Schmitt and Dave Veerman, 365 Trivia Twist Devotions: An Almanac of Fun Facts and Spiritual Truth for Every Day of the Year (Cincinnati: Standard, 2005).