Lessons From a Water Spider

By theteachersdevotionalJanuary 30, 2025

Core Scripture: “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” (Isaiah 41:10)

Message: The truck bed is a dungeon. It gets darker, colder the deeper you walk into it. There are some who refuse to go in, but if you are an Amazonian water spider, you make that dreaded trip. Over and over again. In the darkness of the night. And guess what?

I love every minute of it.

What is a water spider? Maybe you have been to a pond and seen one. The water spider will skip from place to place, skimming over the top of the water like a hovercraft. It is lightning quick, and it seemingly floats wherever it is needed. Almost like it has eyes on every side of its head.

An Amazonian water spider is much the same. Your head is always on a swivel, and you glide from task to task. Putting go-carts away deep in the truck bed. Pulling new go-carts full of packages ready for induct. Using the lift to move pallets. Moving go-carts up as needed. Flattening cardboard boxes the size of a backyard shed and moving them out of the way. Securing go-carts with straps.

You repeat that process probably about 90 times for hours upon hours. It is never done in the same order. There are days you might get 35,000 steps in. The true water spider has a sixth sense, sniffing out what needs to be done in seconds. You don’t really think. You just DO. And those packages coming in to Amazon will not get delivered on time if you are off your game.

Sound appealing?

Teachers can learn a thing or two from observing the Amazonian water spider. Let’s break it down.

Float to where you are needed. The water spider will perform the above tasks as they become known to them. There are days you will spend 30 straight minutes in the truck bed, slamming go-carts in their place. Other days you will be pulling go-carts out of truck beds, swinging them through the concrete floors of the warehouse to the inductors. Teachers are much the same. They use proximity to move about the room, helping students, grabbing supplies, observing, putting out fires before they happen. There is no scripted pattern to where you should be. You are the motor of the classroom.

Execute with selfless teamwork. Amazon will always have three to four water spiders working cohesively at once. They are each assigned to one induct station, but if you only stick to your station, your day will be arduous. The true water spider will perform others’ jobs without a second thought. You are a team, and you play to each other’s strengths. My strength many times comes in retrieving go-carts and slamming them into correct formation in the truck bed. Teachers embrace each other’s strengths as well, utilizing teamwork. Consider creating the perfect last day of school. While the gym teacher organizes a basketball game in the gymnasium, the art teacher will be doing crafts in the cafeteria, and the librarian will be doing yearbook signings in the library.

Go the extra mile. There are some who just go through the motions, and there are others who go above and beyond. When I am in the truck bed, slamming go-carts into place, I see it all. Some roll the go-carts to the ramp and leave. Some shove them over the ramp and leave. Others will guide it over the ramp, break it down, and leave. The best, however, will take the go-cart over the ramp, break it down, twist it, and walk it down to me where I can finish the job. Be that teacher to your students. Go that extra mile. Build relationships with your kids. Go watch their activities after school. Write encouraging feedback on projects. Make a positive parent phone call to tell mom or dad what an awesome kid they are raising. If you go the extra mile, your light will truly shine!

Find the fun. Water spidering can be exhausting and physically taxing on your body. You are constantly on the move, but you have plenty of opportunities to interact with colleagues. I will never forget the day I created a game for Vaughn and I to play as we passed the time. Every time we crossed paths, we played name that movie. We took turns saying lines from movies, and the other guy had to guess which movie it was from. We discovered we both had a fetish for silly comedies like The Waterboy. That conversation led us to deeper conversations down the road, and I found an amazing new friend. Sometimes teachers need to do the same. Take time to laugh with one another. Share commonalities. Give yourself another reason to enjoy your work.

Embrace the light at the end of the tunnel. There are many nights I will find myself stuck in the darkness of the truck bed. Go-carts are rumbling toward me like gigantic blue monsters. I break them down as needed, slamming them into place, four at a time. It can be dark, cold, and dismal in that truck bed the deeper you get, but there is always a light shining bright from the front, piercing the darkness. I focus on that light, knowing the onslaught of go-carts eventually will cease, and I can emerge to the warmth of the warehouse. There are days when teachers are putting out fires left and right. Angry parent emails. Disruptive students. Arduous grading. Or how about that fire drill that threw off your perfect lesson. Power through those days. Keep your mind focused on your own light at the end of the tunnel, knowing the storm only lasts for a while.

The job of a water spider is not glamorous or fame-filled. Much like teachers, the true water spider is humble, obedient, hard-working, and diligent to fulfill his duty. Finding the strength to be that person is not easy, but God will provide the opportunities for you to rely on Him if you seek Him. Be that teacher this week.

Challenge: Choose one of the above tips from a water spider and create an action plan to fulfill it. For example, if you are hitting the midyear doldrums, maybe it is time to find the fun and join a colleague for lunch at a local fast food restaurant, getting to know them on a deeper level.

Bible study: Let’s park on tip number three above. In Matthew 5:41 Jesus says, “If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles.” This thought was based on the Roman law that said soldiers could get Jews to carry their belongings for one mile at any time. Jesus preached to do that AND more. Meditate on that scripture and discuss or journal about the following questions.