Lions, tigers and bears, oh my! You all have heard that familiar chant. What would happen if you added “snake” to that phrase? A week ago I was doing just that! However, it was not a happy go lucky, skipping down the road kind of song sung by Dorothy and friends from The Wizard of Oz. This was a heart-stopping, freak out scream of terror – SNAKE!!!! You see my son had discovered a snake wrapped around the downstairs rungs of the staircase on his way to his bedroom for the night. A feeble question came floating upstairs “Mom, did you buy a rubber snake?” My response was “No, why are you asking?” The real deal was lying so still I thought it was playing dead and instead it was comfortably hanging out in my house – yes in my house! Yikes!

Teamwork commenced and our unwelcome guest was escorted outside. That moment, however, is forever etched in my mind. After this incident, I immediately had a friend ask me if she would be reading about this on my blog. My first thought was “no” who would want to read about a snake but the irony is that God teaches us in all moments and you need to keep your eyes open for the lesson. You see as emotions of terror, unbelief, shock, and finally thankfulness skittered by, I could feel that God wanted me to lean on Him and His strength. The visual of a snake, a real snake, was God shooing Satan away.The lesson is one of trust and disregarding the objects of our world that lure us into believing that all we need are shiny things rather than the God of the Universe.

Life many times breezes by in rapid snapshots like the blinks of an eye. We become comfortable in the frenzied moments and believe that all is right in our world. We can easily be lulled into a feeling of complacency and trust in the world. Then in one blink God shakes things up as a reminder that our life is not our own but His. One moment we are on top of the world and the next we are hanging upside down holding on with all our might. Jesus specifically asks us to be on guard and prepared because you don’t know when the topsy turvy moments will hit.

“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. (Matthew 24:42-44 NIV)

Adam and Eve also had an encounter with a serpent in the Garden of Eden.  Eve was easily tempted by the serpent’s promise of becoming like God  knowing good and evil. All she needed to do was eat from the tree in the middle of the garden. Eve was lured in by a bright, shiny apple that held the promise of Godlike wisdom or did it? One bite of the fruit and Adam and Eve’s lives dramatically changed. Free choice changed Adam and Eve and can also change us on a daily basis. The promise of something better, bigger and brighter pulls us away from what is right and good. We all have serpents in our lives that lead us astray. We all are seeking that one thing that will provide us with happiness.  But in reality, all we need is God – He will provide our true happiness. Shiny objects look pretty and we want them but they do not last like the love of our God who never stops pursuing us even when we turn away.

Here is a picture of my “serpent”. It serves as a reminder to me and to all that in one blink of an eye your life can change due to choices that you make daily. Turn to God, don’t look away and let Him be your beginning and end.

serpent

I pray that you all are drawn into the loving embrace of God each day and that His arms are stronger than those shiny objects of our world. Hold fast to God’s truths and your topsy turvy moments will be blessed with grace and love. Thank you for stopping by today!

What are the serpents in your lives? How do you lean into God rather than your own understanding?

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