I Tried Everything Until God Asked One Question

Five weeks of fighting imported red fire ants in my garden did more than test my patience. It exposed a habit I didn’t want to admit: I’ll hustle, research, push, and try to control the outcome… and only then think to pray.

I’m Theresa Marie, and today’s Earth School lesson starts in middle Tennessee with a strawberry patch, cardboard mulch, wood chips, and a stubborn two-foot ant mound right in the center of my plans. I walk through the natural remedies, the reluctant chemical attempt, and the emotional build from “please relocate” to full-on frustration. Then a quiet question cuts through everything: “Did you ever think to ask me to help you?” That moment turns pest control into a faith reset, reminding us what it looks like to stop making God our last resort.
If you’ve been stuck in control mode, let this be a gentle nudge back to prayer, movement, and trust. Subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review if it helps, what’s one area where you want to ask God first?And as always I pray for your GREAT health, VIBRANT energy and of course PEACE!

Transcript

Words, Laughter, And A Better Sunday

Choosing Gardening Over The Warehouse

The Fire Ant Problem Gets Personal

Control, Anger, And An Eviction Notice

One Question That Changes Everything

Ants, The Matrix, And Resilient Enemies

Proverbs On Diligence And Wisdom

Surprising Benefits Of Fire Ants

God Hunts, Takeaways, And Closing

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Fi The ants go marchin' one by one, hurrah hurrah and I want to welcome you to this splendid spiritual salubrious Sunday as we merge those two little jingles together and meet in the wonderful Sunday sanctuary for some awesome earth school lessons today. So welcome back in to Free to Just Be. I am your host Teresa Marie, an ambassador of Gotch Chi, and I am here to help humanity reconnect with God, nature, movement, and each other. So if you're ready to step out of the matrix and back into your true self, please make sure to like, subscribe, and share this message with someone who needs it. Let's step on in to Earth School, shall we? Well, I uh I just have to share my Sunday adjectives. I just love words. Why would today be a splendid day? Splendid means worthy of high praise. And why would this particular Sunday be worthy of high praise? Well, because if you allow it to be, it can be a spiritual day. And spiritual means connected to one's soul. Isn't that kind of cool? And then, of course, it is a salubrious day. This is my favorite word today. I love words. And I asked my husband what he thought salubrious means, and he he took off with a whole nother um uh marriage kind of connection word, and and when I told him that salubrious means favorable to health, he said, salubrious, hmm, I have something that's favorable to your health. And yes, we could we can also bring in um laughter to today. Um and truly, if you want this Sunday to be worthy of high praise, take some time with God, preferably out in nature. It's gonna be 86 degrees and sunny, the sky is blue here in middle Tennessee, and I am going to have an awesome day. Um, if you can tell, it's already 10 to 9, and I am still home, and that is because I already determined yesterday that I was not going into the warehouse today. Um, if need be, I will pick up another shift on Thursday, the other end of my work week, because I am 85% in to putting in my strawberry patch, which includes strawberries, red onions, garlic, marigolds, nasturniums, and some lettuces. And I want to get them all in the ground, and then I have my seeds ready for our trellis tunnel. And I I just I couldn't. Tomorrow the the the high is only gonna be 60, and I just am thankful that Amazon allows. I mean, there's no points, I have plenty of um unpaid time available. Now, of course, I'm not gonna get paid for today, but I'm also not gonna get fired because I'm not there and because I haven't called in, because they allow you to have a life. So um I am very, very excited to be home. But I need to share some lessons from nature, and we can always learn um in whatever arena that we're we find ourselves in, God is always right there with these incredible lessons. If we would just have eyes to see them, sometimes it needs to be spiritualized. And uh this is one of those I'm gonna tell on myself uh type of lessons because I I almost literally um at about three o'clock yesterday afternoon, my husband was at a um a shooting event. Uh he has, I'm so grateful for his, I call them his gun bromen, um, because I am not um I'm not a big fan of of his uh his love, his passion, and that is uh weapons and and modifications and and um punching out his own ammunition and and all of that. Um he he has such a passion that has grown uh over the years. Uh he just turned 60 and he has been uh an avid gun collector and uh target shooter since he was about 12 years old. And there was a a season when we were in prep mode and we belonged to um uh Middle Tennessee three percenters, um, which we s we still do. We still have a lot of friends, and uh we would still be there for a lot of the people that we met uh as they would for us, but we're not in an active chapter right now, and during that time I did go on the target range with him. But anyway, um boy, that was a whole little side path I just took. Um but anyway, he was at his shooting event, and I was busily turning over the dirt of this big strawberry patch, and the revelation came in, and I almost literally ran in covered with dirt to drop this podcast, but then I decided, no, I'm gonna let it um stew a little bit. I'm gonna let it um uh gather its momentum, so to speak. I'm gonna let it uh oh, what is the word I'm looking for? Um just get into my my own soul first before I share it, right? Because this has actually been a five-week lesson, and in five weeks, it took me five weeks to get to the punchline that I'm gonna share. And I I was laughing out loud out in the garden saying, Really, God, really, it took me this long to get this. But anyway, uh I I need to share with you about these this battle and these skirmishes that I've been having with imported red fire ants. And uh, you know, I started five weeks ago by going out, you know, I I was planning and plotting my garden, and I had 10 anthills, and these are not just little fun picnic ants, these are ants, I'll give you an example. Um they are vicious, they are vengeful, um, and they are very aggressive. And if you are unfortunate enough to not be aware and you step on their endhill and don't realize that you've and you're standing there, they are gonna be all over you because what they do is immediate, and that is they swarm, and they come out, um, kind of like uh uh the concept of you know, you hit a bee's nest, right? And the swarm will come out. Same same concept. And in the beginning, I um I just you know, I I got bit a couple of times around my they they come right in through. Um I have uh an old pair of tennis shoes that I wear when I garden, and um generally I wear them without socks, and you know, you can picture the mesh that's over the top of your of the toe area of the sneakers, and um immediately uh they go right through the holes. And so um I had numerous bites on my feet and my ankles, you know, because as soon as you get bit once, you know, and and you get out of that area, and um I'm very grateful I didn't get covered or anything like that. So I was aware that they were there, and I was thinking about how I was going to navigate and and and eradicate them, right? And uh so I began researching and and I didn't want to do anything chemical. And so they have a lot of home remedies, uh boiling water, um borax and and sugar, um uh putting molasses in the water, um, and a little dish soap, all of these natural things. And I tried them all, and nothing, nothing seemed to hit them. So I finally broke down uh because I didn't have seed in the ground, I don't have anything growing yet, and uh there's still about six weeks before everything will start, you know, coming up. So I I dropped the 21 bucks and I got what the reviews on Amazon said was the absolute cure for fire ants. And I read all like 50 reviews, and everybody said, Yep, it worked like a charm. Three applications at the time of day when they say it, you know, you're supposed to do it right before it gets dark because ants come out, and I've learned so much about ants. And in the beginning, what I've learned was uh all the negative aspects of ants, and uh uh how they uh send the scout ants out to bring in food when the heat of the day is gone, and during the hilt of the heat of the day, they go further underground so that they can stay cool, and then when it gets cooler, they come up from their tunnels, and all of these scout ants go out and they start, you know, foraging for their food, and that's when you put down this this chemical granular. And uh three days in a row, and each day I increased the dose, and on day three, I still had active fire ant hills. So I I was very, very frustrated, and um, you know, I had been researching and trying different things every three-day period that I had off, and so here it is, I'm getting ready. Uh, and right in the center of my strawberry patch, well, first, my first frustration was where we have our berries. Uh, I have covered I scalped the lawn and covered it with thick cardboard and then covered it completely with wood chips, um, actually decomposed wood chips, not fully composted yet, but pretty close. And um, I covered that area completely because I wanted the blueberry bushes, the raspberries and the blackberries, and my elderberry tree to have no weed competition. And also, I'm doing these major installations because ultimately Roger and I want to be lazy gardeners. We don't want a weed, so we are creating a um an edible um environment, a landscape. Eventually, as my dream has always been, um, I want to have a food forest in my um on my property in my front yard, and we are well on our way to do that. So, anyway, I had everything laid out except the very last strip of cardboard to be laid. And I have, you know, all the wood chips, all the compost sitting there waiting to be to be covered, and I couldn't finish the project because I had two anhills. And it just frustrated me because I'm a controller, right? And I I my goal was to get this done. And it's still uncovered, and I'm I'm believing that today I will be able to finish the job five weeks later. So, and in the middle of my strawberry patch that is going to be planted today was a huge, oh I don't know, let's see, two foot in diameter anthill, right in the center. And um I'm determined that that's going to be planted today. So anyway, I'm out in the in the yard and um I'm so frustrated and I'm just like God, what the heck? What what is it with these ants? What can I do? And this is about the three o'clock hour yesterday. I hear the spirit very clearly in my head say, Did you ever think to ask me to help you? And I went, um uh and and then I started laughing out loud. Um now, to my credit, I will tell you that six weeks ago when I walked out there and and and you know, in the in the autumn and and before everything starts getting green, it's very easy to see these hills because they're they dig up all this dirt, and you know, you can you know in Middle Tennessee right now, you can pass by any house and spot the fire ant hills because they're everywhere. Um, I talked to a former neighbor um yesterday, and all over his wheat fields and all over where his cattle are are fire ants, and he said he doesn't even know how the cattle manage out there when often they're standing right in the fire ant hills. And I don't know either because uh, for example, there was a um one day when my husband uh I don't know oh, he was turning our compost pile, and as he had the pitchfork in his hand, uh he discovered a fire ant hill in the middle of our compost pile. And the reason he discovered it is because these little suckers, immediately, the second he disturbed that anthill, which was covered with compost and he didn't recognize it, they had what I consider warrior ants rush up this pitchfork candle, and he got bit three times between his thumb and his forefinger. And my husband obviously is allergic to their venom because his hand like doubled inside and puffed up, right? And we had to get him an anahistamine, and and it took a good five or six days before his hand was completely um well again. So you you can understand that these are these suckers are pretty aggressive, and um but then you so back then six weeks ago, this was this is my Buddhist uh type attitude because honestly, I do want to work together with nature. I want to be in unity. I know that that we were all created by the same God, and uh I believe that we are all meant to live on this beautiful planet in harmony and unity. And so, as I've often done in gardening years past, I it's it's kind of like um I'll give you I'll give you another example. Um at this time of year when uh the insect world wakes up, uh when we start walking in our woods, uh we have a good three or four weeks before everything gets so grown up and and the bugs are so thick in Middle Tennessee that we can't walk on the trails in our woods because it's just not a comfortable thing to do. But prior to that, as you're walking down our wood paths, especially in the early morning when the dew is out, there are often spider webs across the path. And my husband um does not like spiders, and he does not like spider webs, so he always has a stick, and he'll walk first and he'll knock the stick down. And I just put on I put on a boonie hat and I just walk. And my attitude is well, um, I don't mean to interrupt your your livelihood or mess up your home. I'm I'm sorry, um, but um, you know, I'm gonna pass through, spider. That's kind of how I deal with it. So six weeks ago, I did the same thing with the ants. I was just like, look, guys, I'm I'm giving you an eviction notice. Okay, and I'm literally out there as I'm walking around my yard with a cup of coffee uh six weeks ago, and and I'm telling them, look, we have a huge yard. You can go anywhere in the yard, I won't disturb you, no problem. I just need you to relocate out of my garden beds. And please don't relocate on any of the walkways, okay? So just pick, look, look at all this space. We have a good acre and a half up here, and you can pick anywhere that I am not going to be disturbing you and you won't disturb me, okay? And then I told them, look, if you don't comply, I'm gonna have to start trying to move you myself. That was six weeks, and then it got to the point where I was saying, Would you just effing move, right? And frustration building was my con I I I couldn't control them. And what have I shared with you? Suffering begins when you can't control, Teresa Marie, right? So here, you know, now I'm on like the sixth time I've tried anything. Uh I I already used the chemical and it's still, it didn't even, didn't even slow them down. And so my last attempt on Friday, I think it was Friday, was one more dose of this boiling water with molasses and dish soap. Okay. So my husband, our youngest son Cash, and I all went out, and they each had the boiling pots of water with the goodies in it, and I had the pitchfork, and I would make holes in their anthill, and then they would immediately pour. And I and I felt terrible. I know I'm not a Buddhist, but I would prefer not to kill or harm any of God's creatures. But at the same time, I'm thinking of all the verses about how God has given us dominion over all the creatures on the planet, right? And then the question came, did you ask me? Did you ask me for help? And I'm like, oh my God. Oh my god. I'm I'm so sorry. I I've literally made you, God, my last resort. My last resort. And here on my podcast, I always talk about how, you know, God needs to be the center and and he has all the answers, and we just need to go back into our spark of God and and you know, run back to him. And and I'm out there laughing. I'm thinking, oh my God, I should run in and I should share with my audience that here it is, I'm telling on myself again, all this time, six weeks, I have tried, I, I, I, I, have tried everything to get rid of these freaking friar ants. And I never thought to say, God, could you please just relocate these ants? Could you eradicate, could you, could you make it so that I can garden safely? And so, of course, I did that today, and I am uh with a very high expectation that God has answered my prayer and everything's. It's gonna be uh copacetic today when I get out there. And then I did a deeper dive into ants, and it is it it is amazing. I'm out there, I'm still digging, and I'm thinking about because you know, uh about a week ago, my husband and I watched a video about these imported red fire ants, and they are incredibly um resilient and diligent and um talk about a work ethic, right? And I also find it extremely interesting that as last week I was thinking about these ants, and I was thinking about how the media and the matrix are so much like these ants. I want you to think about this concept for a second. Um, we poke the bear, all right? All right, just just think of the Epstein files, for example, or any um money honey hole that the Matrix has, or any lie that is suddenly being revealed, that gets poked, and just like these ants, a million pieces of fake news, propaganda, the way they want us to think immediately come out, just like the ants. And I was like, wow, you know, that's just like the way the Matrix works, and they're gonna give us a million, and and that's generally each anthill holds about a million fire ants. It's just incredible, and that's what they do, they put out a million lies and a million distractions to keep us from furthering the truth, right? So I was thinking about that aspect of the ants and how the matrix is like them. And then we watch this video, and it it's incredible to watch these fire ants. If you try to flood the mount, for example, um, they have documented and we watch videos of literal floods that happen and how these ants literally lock their hands and feet together and make ant rafts to survive, and they will float until they get to dry land and then they'll start all over again and nothing stops them. And the protection that they have for the queen ants, and how everybody has a job and everybody knows what their job is, and how when a scout goes out to get food, they leave a chemical trail so that when food is discovered, they can send back the message on that chemical trail, hey, follow me, this is where the food is. It is quite an amazing system. Then I also thought about the enemies of our soul, how they are extremely organized, and they stick together just like these ants. And no matter what truth gets exposed, they tighten up their grasp on one another, and they somehow move forward with their neforious acts. And so, you know, again, these are these are all negative connotations uh that I'm I'm thinking in my head, right? Then I started thinking about wow, what if God's people, you know, the church is not a building, in case you need that reminder. The church is us, it's the people. And Jesus never came onto this planet to say, hey, we need to create a hundred different religions, and every town needs to have a hundred different churches. That was not ever his case. He often preached the good news to thousands of people sitting on grass outside. So again, I bring you back to that word I used this morning. Um salubrious, it's it's very favorable to health to be sitting outside, and it is splendid and worthy of high praise to do so, right? And then as I'm out there, I'm thinking about the word of God and what he says about ants. And of course, I had to go look look it up, and there's not there's just and think about this ants were noteworthy enough to God Almighty, our Creator, who created ants, to write about them in the Word of God. So Proverbs 6, 6 through 8. Here comes your Sunday sermon. It says, Go to the ant, O sluggard, consider her ways and be wise, without having any chief, officer, or ruler. She prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest. Isn't that incredible? How they work together in unity. Proverbs thirty twenty five. The ants are a people not strong, yet they provide their food in the summer. Six weeks and I still have not annihilated these ants. Proverbs thirty twenty four and twenty five. Four things on earth are small, but they are exceedingly wise. The ants are a people not strong yet, they provide their food in the summer. Proverbs six six, well, I already read that one. Go to the animal, sluggard, consider her ways and be wise. Now I'm talking about the fire horse energy yesterday, right? And here it is, the fire ant. I'm just out there laughing. And I just did a podcast yesterday about how this fire horse energy is all about movement and how we cannot stay still. And what is Proverbs 13:4 says, the soul of the sluggard craves. They have the we talked about dreams yesterday and how no dream can come into manifestation without action. And here it is, the soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied. And then I asked and researched, are there any benefits to fire ants? And what came back was while they are an invasive species, what do they do? Just about three days ago, we each had a cat on our laps, and my husband was commenting about how we haven't used any kind of flea medication treatment or collars on any of our animals. We have two snow dogs, which are very hairy, and we still have three cats. Unfortunately, the other three cats have gone to be um with Jesus. And so we have five pets that are in and out of our house on a daily basis. And Roger mentioned that I haven't had an issue with ants in a couple of years. And I'm like, yeah, that's pretty cool. It's amazing, you know, there's no sign, there's no itchiness, we don't have fleas in the house. And lo and behold, fire ants help control fleas, cockroaches, and uh one other one other bug, I can't remember what the other bug is, but fleas. And so these fire ants on our property are controlling the fleas. That's a good thing. And then there are tunnels. Um, as I was digging up around our blueberries, which is also one of the areas where I've had a struggle with ants, I was telling my husband, man, the the soil here is has really gotten rich. Now, there was a lot of uh forest, you know, forest floor um semi-composted material that was all over there. And so the the ground was being fed, but what do ants do? They provide tunnels and provide air and circulation and help the soil. So here I am out there, and I'm I'm thinking, wow, I never asked you. I have been in the control seat, and for six weeks I have been frustrated. Isn't that amazing? And then, you know, you you think about the fact that here we are in the fire horse energy and I'm dealing with fire ants. God has such a sense of humor, doesn't he? It's it's just amazing. So as I close up today, um, I want you to just think about how if we look, even if we're not sitting in a pew, we we can have such sermons given to us by God Almighty. So in closing, like the ants, Humanityville, let us be diligent, organized, and persistent in all we do. And if if we apply the wisdom of the ant to our daily ri lives, you and I can also achieve great things and bring honor and glory to God. And I will keep you updated as I go back out and uh finish this planting today. I'll keep you updated about the fire ants in our yard and just take a minute and just consider how God speaks to us all the time. And you know, I kind of laughed at myself, but it was kind of sad when it when I stopped and thought about it because I I walk with God, I talk with God, I pray to God, I I am in such a deep relationship with him. And it when he pointed out that, you know what, Teresa, you have been trying to do this on your own this whole time when you could have just asked me, and you know, it would have been a done deal. And I had to say, oh my God, I'm so sorry, God. I never ever want to make you my last resort. So, whatever it is you're doing today, if you're getting ready to go to church, and if after church you're gonna do something outside with your family, maybe your first uh grilling out for you know, to welcome spring, or maybe you're gonna work in your garden, notice God. Go on a God hunt because He will give you the best sermons right inside your soul. I love you so much, Humanityville. And I hope my little lessons of the giants of these little tiny creatures and how incredible they really are has been helpful and of some value to you. And as always, I pray that you have the greatest health and the most vibrant energy, and of course, peace.