The Tribune

By AYANNA CLARKE

It's 5.30am. My heart is pumping and my muscles straining as I run (trot, really) along the winding, concrete path in Cable Beach. Suddenly, the moon escapes its cloudy constraints and the lane is bathed in moonlight. I look down and gleaming up from the path are little silver trails that seem to be pointing the way from one place to another in the underbrush.

Upon closer inspection, I realise these aren't silver trails at all, but tiny threads of mucus left behind by snails as they ventured onto the sidewalk. Some of the mucus trails extended completely across the pathway, while others told of a snail who had moved out of the bush only to change its mind and circle right back toward the home that it knew.

The impression for me was immediate, and it led me on a study that would teach me lessons, not only to begin 2018, but that would stay with me for life. These are the lessons that I want to share with you.

What do we know about snails and slugs? They're slow, weird looking little creatures that appear on walls, walkways, and any other surface they can stick to. I remember as a child, pouring copious amounts of salt on their bodies and watching them twist and writhe in discomfort.

But in research I observed several interesting facts about these misunderstood creatures:

1. In the absence of a mate, snails can reproduce on their own.

2. Though very delicate, snails can survive even the most adverse dry weather by going into deep hibernation.

3. Snails and slugs bring nutrients to soil.

4. Even in death, they decompose to provide chemicals and other nutrients for other organisms.

No one wants to be compared to a snail, but isn't it amazing just how much we can learn from this insignificant creature? As overlooked and under-considered as it is, this mollusk provides the basis for teaching us the following attributes:

• Never be afraid in the absence of support, affirmation or encouragement from others - God has seen to it that everything you need to succeed and to find purpose for your life is already inside of you.

• Do not despise beginnings that are rough, small or insignificant - history is filled with persons who overcame seemingly insurmountable obstacles and went on to achieve greatness. Some of those persons are the builders of this great nation. The Bible advises, "Seeing that we are surrounded by so many witnesses....let us run the race set before us...(Hebrews 12:1)

• Life is just like a garden. We often take time to look at the surface - the colours, the delicate petals, amazing fragrances, which sometimes cause us to forget that the bed for all this beauty is the brown, dank soggy mess of dirt underneath. Snails fertilise this same dirt from which grows tremendous beauty. No matter what has gone wrong in your life, or what consequences you may face, as long as there is life, there is the hope of changing that trash into treasure and that mess into a message. God can take every submitted broken thing and turn it into a work of art.

• The same way the snail leaves a trail, we are called upon as citizens of this world to leave a positive legacy that others can follow into their own destinies. We can be the compass the sets a young man's direction right; the smile or word of encouragement that lifts a young lady's esteem.

These same snails can and will teach us how to be better to ourselves, better to those around us, and to leave a lasting and godly legacy for others to follow. God bless you this week!

• Ayanna Clarke is a psalmist, singer and author, who has recently released the inspirational book "In the Hands of the Potter".