There’s a snake lurking in the grass.”
–Virgil
“It’s not the decisions you make that determine your destiny. It’s how you handle the outcome of your decisions.”
–unknown
My buddy from junior high and high school and I used to ride our bikes out to lakes in the region to fish. I remember one day, it was warm, and the fish were not biting. Doug went off to the left to try some lures in another spot. I decided to lazy fish, I put a worm on one hook and salmon eggs on the other, then laid back.
I was laying there, maybe fifteen minutes, when I looked to my side and “Whoop-ti!” (a term from my Grandpa) a snake crawled out from under me. Needless to say I was no longer laying in that spot; actually for a while I might have been airborne. I didn’t feel it move so I probably was laying on its den. Well, after I got my young heart slowed down some, I looked and saw it was a garter snake. By that time Doug had come over, and for some reason he was laughing. Well, I gave that snake a fling out into the lake. Hopefully he became dinner for a large trout or largemouth bass.
Now that is the way with life at times. We are just relaxing, enjoying the day and once in a while a snake crawls out from under us. We get caught unawares, the old devil has slipped in and we just didn’t realize it. Sometimes the seemingly innocent things can turn out to be a snake in the grass. Something happened and we were not expecting it, and then we possibly didn’t react properly and wound up in a mess.
Just a garter snake is not bad, but crawling from underneath you, well, I guarantee it will get your attention. But what if? What if it had been one of those nasty rattlers? They are the ones with those large, deadly fangs full of poison. We make enough trouble for ourselves in life with the snakes that we see out there. Those writhing, conniving, sneaky snakes ready to strike out. There are plenty of those in life, but to lay there on top of one, “whoop-ti”.
I remember a story of a cowboy up north. He and his buddy were out looking for strays. They took time to make some coffee and get a little snooze in after lunch. The cowboy woke up, and yep, on top on him was one of those pesky rattlers. He softly spoke his pard’s name to waken him quietly for he didn’t want any sudden movements to stir up the snake. “Get him off me,” he was almost crying.
His partner ran to his saddlebags. He had a camera there and wanted to make sure to get a picture, for it most likely would not happen again. Some pard! But everything worked out all right. Those snakes! Just be sure to watch for them when you go walking out after dark. In fact, as Christians we should never be walking in the dark, but the Word of God should be that light upon our paths.
“Snakes! Brood of vipers! How can you escape being condemned to hell?”
–Matthew 23:33 (HCSB)