Lessons by Ginger

GingerLove

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So, I was cleaning Ginger’s cage today because some nasty little flying bugs somehow got into it. But as I did so, a thought occurred to me. Ginger had to live with these bugs for at least a week as I prepared her cage to be cleaned. (Buying coconut coir, letting it dry, scheduling for one of my family members to help me carry the cage outside to be cleaned, etc.). During this time, the bugs never bothered her once. As a matter of fact, I don’t think she even noticed them.o_O

That’s when the thought occurred to me. Here I am, huffing and puffing and freaking out that there are bugs in Ginger’s cage. I was stressed and anxious and kept checking to make sure she was okay. And she was fine. Just fine.

The nasty little gnats in her cage made me thing about how often I let the little “bugs” of life to drag me down. It’s always the nagging, frustrating, little events that I allow to pull me down. I get depressed, anxious, and exhaust myself trying to make everything alright.

Rather than letting the things stress me out, I think I need to be more like Ginger. The little things are not so bad. I have been allowing them to control my life. Each thing will be tackled at its own time, and worrying about them ahead of time will do nothing. Just like Ginger was able to ignore the gnats and focus on munching her food, digging into the dirt, and getting a good night’s sleep, I believe that I should focus on the positive things in my life. After all, It says that “the ‘little bugs’ ;)produce perseverance, and perseverance, character, and character hope. And hope does not disappoint us.”

So next time the little things start to drag me down, I’ll just remember how little it really is, and I’ll turn my thoughts to all the blessings I have been given! :)

Thanks for reading, guys! :) (Ginger using her treats as a pillow, perfectly satisfied despite the bugs):<3::tort:
photoflower1 002.JPG
 

wellington

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Cute pic. Just remember when caring for these guys all the things they live with in the wild. Bugs, mud holes to drink out of, eating off the ground, not a clean plate or piece of slate. Cloudy, rainy, windy, stormy days. They can handle a lot and too clean/obcessive over them might not be as good as you might think.
So yes, relax and enjoy him more and fuss less.
 

GingerLove

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Cute pic. Just remember when caring for these guys all the things they live with in the wild. Bugs, mud holes to drink out of, eating off the ground, not a clean plate or piece of slate. Cloudy, rainy, windy, stormy days. They can handle a lot and too clean/obcessive over them might not be as good as you might think.
So yes, relax and enjoy him more and fuss less.
Thanks! I have to keep telling myself just to enjoy Ginger. And I usually don't clean (maybe three times a year??), I just wanted to get rid of the bugs because she lives in my room.:p
 

wellington

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I know the feeling. When my Tatum was little he lived in my living room and had the bugs. Only the little fruit fly looking ones ever came out of the enclosure. Luckily they have a short live span.
 

Stuart S.

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Thanks for sharing! I did the exact same thing, I initially tore Spur's enclosure apart and scrubbed clean, baked the substrate and everything; but after I found out they're harmless I don't let them bother me as much. That's a great outlook on life too, reminds of the scripture regarding the birds...“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?" Matthew 6:25-27
 

ZEROPILOT

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My outdoors pens are full of spiders and if I don't keep on top of it, tons of spider webs.
Likely because of the insects attracted to the tortoises activities.
I see spiders no where else on my property.
 

GingerLove

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Thanks for sharing! I did the exact same thing, I initially tore Spur's enclosure apart and scrubbed clean, baked the substrate and everything; but after I found out they're harmless I don't let them bother me as much. That's a great outlook on life too, reminds of the scripture regarding the birds...“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?" Matthew 6:25-27
Oh my gosh, that's one of my favorite verses!!!!!!!!!! I just didn't know the reference! Thanks! I also like the one that says "Cast all your anxieties on him because he cares for you", but... uh... I don't know the reference. I think it's in 1 Peter?? ;)
 

GingerLove

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My outdoors pens are full of spiders and if I don't keep on top of it, tons of spider webs.
Likely because of the insects attracted to the tortoises activities.
I see spiders no where else on my property.
I wish I could just use bug spray, but I don't want to hurt Ginger!!! How did you get rid of the spiders??
 

GingerLove

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I know the feeling. When my Tatum was little he lived in my living room and had the bugs. Only the little fruit fly looking ones ever came out of the enclosure. Luckily they have a short live span.
They probably were fruit flies, come to think of it. Are they super tiny and kind of "clumsy" when they fly?
 

Stuart S.

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Oh my gosh, that's one of my favorite verses!!!!!!!!!! I just didn't know the reference! Thanks! I also like the one that says "Cast all your anxieties on him because he cares for you", but... uh... I don't know the reference. I think it's in 1 Peter?? ;)

You're right, 1 Peter 5:7 :)
 

GingerLove

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Ginger never ceases to amaze me. This time, I was trying to give family members instructions on how to care for Ginger if I ever leave town. I quickly realized that my instructions were becoming very lengthy. They went something like this,
1. Turn on Ginger’s light
2. Carefully pet her until she opens her eyes
3. Chop up her food and put her favorite veggies on top and the others on the bottom
4. Change her water
5. Twirl your finger around in the water so that she comes over to explore
6. Move her toward the food to make sure she sees it
7. Feed her the first piece of food so that she becomes interested
8. Wait to make sure she’s eating properly
And that’s excluding the instructions on how to look for poopies, stir up the dirt, and let her play outside. This quickly made me realize that I was turning my little Ginger into a monster. A big fat “monster” that only eats if given the first piece of food, and only drinks if lured to the water bowl.

I have since changed things so that Ginger now searches for her own food and drinks her water without any help. Though I felt like I was “spoiling” her, I was really just making her an impossible pet to care for. This reminded me of how I can do the same thing with people. If, for instance, I walk on eggshells around somebody and bend to their every wish, this can create a monster out of someone. If I really love someone, I need to quit conceding to their every wish or desire. Then there’s the other side of things. When I demand others to do something for me or throw a “fit” when others disagree with me, I am becoming the monster myself.

It just reminded me of the verse that says, “For whom the Lord loves, he reproves, even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights”. Proverbs 3:12.

Can you believe it, @Stuart S. , I looked up the reference all by myself! ;)
(This is one of my favorite pics I took a while ago of my little cutie brat! :) ) work3 058.JPG
 

Stuart S.

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Ginger never ceases to amaze me. This time, I was trying to give family members instructions on how to care for Ginger if I ever leave town. I quickly realized that my instructions were becoming very lengthy. They went something like this,
1. Turn on Ginger’s light
2. Carefully pet her until she opens her eyes
3. Chop up her food and put her favorite veggies on top and the others on the bottom
4. Change her water
5. Twirl your finger around in the water so that she comes over to explore
6. Move her toward the food to make sure she sees it
7. Feed her the first piece of food so that she becomes interested
8. Wait to make sure she’s eating properly
And that’s excluding the instructions on how to look for poopies, stir up the dirt, and let her play outside. This quickly made me realize that I was turning my little Ginger into a monster. A big fat “monster” that only eats if given the first piece of food, and only drinks if lured to the water bowl.

I have since changed things so that Ginger now searches for her own food and drinks her water without any help. Though I felt like I was “spoiling” her, I was really just making her an impossible pet to care for. This reminded me of how I can do the same thing with people. If, for instance, I walk on eggshells around somebody and bend to their every wish, this can create a monster out of someone. If I really love someone, I need to quit conceding to their every wish or desire. Then there’s the other side of things. When I demand others to do something for me or throw a “fit” when others disagree with me, I am becoming the monster myself.

It just reminded me of the verse that says, “For whom the Lord loves, he reproves, even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights”. Proverbs 3:12.

Can you believe it, @Stuart S. , I looked up the reference all by myself! ;)
(This is one of my favorite pics I took a while ago of my little cutie brat! :) ) View attachment 205350

These are great!! Great verse too!! :):)
 
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