A few nights ago, I woke myself up from a nightmare. If you know me very well, you'll know I have weird dreams. So, this night was like most, only I rarely have nightmares. I was dreaming that I was driving into some camp-like setting. Next thing I remember, we're at a pond at my parents. There's a tree growing by the the pond, a dirt hill, and more water on the other side of the hill. Coming up beside the tree is a python- a big one, one Biologist Bob would likely bring to school. This particular python, or maybe boa, was swallowing a raccoon, if I remember correctly. I ran, needless to say, as it crossed over the hill, to the other side of the water. There, my daddy and I was standing kind of in the edge, where some roots or logs or something "snaky looking" was also in the water. There was another snake nearby. Then, the scary part- Presley was in the water; she was very little in my dream. The next thing I remember, she went down behind the logs or roots, and before I finally woke up, I was trying to scream to my daddy, "Go get her! Go get her!" I knew that snake was headed in her direction.
I woke myself and Jason up, as I was making that noise. As I was in the middle of waking/dreaming, I remember trying to get my daddy to get her, only it was as if I had my mouth taped. I couldn't get the words out, and he couldn't understand what I was saying.
Monday, we picked the kids up from Jason's parents, and Presley came in, saying a snake was in the yard. She was a little too calm, I thought, so I wasn't even sure she was serious. Sure enough, it was. Molly, the dog, had been barking at it, and Presley saw it up next to the wall, close to the sidewalk, and very close to where we had been and where the kids had been playing. It was near the water faucet, which they had turned on earlier in the day to play in the sprinkler. Sorry Biologist Bob, Turtle Man, and Swamp People, but Jason killed it. Not sure what kind it was, but I really don't care!
My thoughts went right to my dream, and as I was mowing today, I thought of how easily snakes blend in with their surroundings. That one sure did. It could've easily been mistaken for a stick, just as I saw a stick today that really looked like a snake.
Before I get to the rest of this blog, let me start by saying I have often thought certain "snakes" were just "sticks." There have been plenty of times where something seemed harmless and I picked it up, only to realize later I'd been bitten. That is just how the snake, the devil, works. So, guilty I am. I've held the snake of bitterness, pride, jealously, lust, envy, slander, gossip..........when Satan had made them only look like harmless, lifeless sticks........I've got no stones to throw. But, if someone saw a snake about to come after me, bite me or begin to wrap around me, I would hope they would hear someone screaming, "Go get her!" like I was in my dream.
I have been very concerned over the summer's rage in books and movies. Even as I type, I have mixed feelings of how to convey my feelings yet not come across judgmental. I feel these are just some of the tools Satan uses. He parades around as light, but his goal is to steal, kill and destroy. We justify so much, thinking it doesn't affect us.
I asked, "How do we balance not sounding judgmental, yet hold ourselves and others up to the standards to which we are called?" Are we just "fans" of Christ, or "followers?" (Read NOT A FAN if you haven't)
These are hard questions I'm having to ask myself.
The Lord has convicted me of some of these "grey" areas, but really, there are no grey areas.
It's either darkness or light- those are not my Words.
I pray that God would put those people in my life, who will "come get me" when they see that I may be near a snake and not realize it.
I pray for the love of God to help me "go get others" in danger.
"In reality just about anywhere you go in dense tropical habitats, there are many many snakes around you. But how often do you actually see the snakes? They are difficult to see because most snakes are "sit and wait" predators but also because they have great markings to help them hide from predators and prey." - thewildclassroom.com
