Now that my blood pressure is normal again, I’ll share my story.
While I was minding my own business, participating in an online writing critique group, a predator snuck onto my deck. At the end of the meeting, my friend, Jean, mentioned she planned to create a blog post and a video about the serpent in Genesis three.
As soon as we finished, and without my contacts, I headed toward the deck. The storm door hadn’t been closing properly, so when I saw something stretched across the horizontal metal piece in the middle of the door, I thought my husband had placed weather stripping there.
“How tacky! I’ll ask him to get rid of it when he gets home.”
When I moved one step closer and put my hand on the storm door handle, the three-feet-plus-long “strip” moved, turned its head downward, and stuck its forked tongue out at me.
I’m pretty sure I invented a new dance step and uttered a guttural sound of disgust before I yelled, “What are you doing here?”
I took pictures through the glass for identification purposes because I planned to prosecute and have Hubby Hero execute the rascal. Split-second thoughts flashed: “Don’t kill good snakes,” they say. “We need good snakes,” they say.
Well, THEY are welcome to have this “good snake” in THEIR yard, IF in fact, he IS a good snake…IF there is such a thing.
Would you like to know how tenacious the creepy thing was? I closed the back door and banged on it as hard as I could. Then I opened the door just a tad and peeked out to see where he went, if anywhere. He budged not an inch! Did he not hear me pounding on the door?
Next, to add more slither points, he faced left and began to crawl back over his own body. Ew, ick, yuk! I slammed that door shut!
Whew! Deep breath. Danger averted. Down, blood pressure. Down, I say.
Knight-in-shining armor hurried home on his trusty steed, aka green work truck, and urged the hideous intruder off the deck with a long piece of metal conduit. Sir William (his first name) reminded me of his warning–my birdhouses would attract snakes. (Why is he ALWAYS right?! Don’t I get a turn?) 🤣
The black snake (identified later by his line-up mug shot) was there all along, stretched across the storm door. God knew; I did not. I thanked my heavenly Father for the protection of the glass and the last-second realization that I should stop. (If I’d gone onto the deck, I might have suffered a heart attack or broken my leg jumping off the deck. It could happen.)
When I calmed down, I remembered Jean telling us at the end of the meeting she planned to work on her video and blog post about Satan, the Garden of Eden serpent. As she spoke–at that very minute–a serpent sat on my door. Shudder, shudder. The comparison repulsed me.
Jean’s topic and my experience—what a parallel.
God spoke two messages into my heart.
- Jean spoke of Satan slithering in snake-like fashion, waiting for an opportune moment to strike when we are either unaware or wandering, perhaps into deliberate sin. The scaly reptile I saw approached in silence to a place I never expected his kind to appear. Keeping our eyes on God helps us stay alert to the uninvited, cunning schemes of the evil one. The Bible compares Satan to a roaring lion:
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
1 Peter 5:8
Although this verse warns us to be watchful, we are not to fear our enemy. Believers in Christ can state with assurance,
He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
1 John 4:4 b
- The second lesson: proper correction provides clear vision. Without my contact lenses, I almost opened the storm door and gave that snake a free ride. That action would not have ended well. God’s Word serves as vision correction for our lives. Through Bible study and prayer, the Holy Spirit sharpens our focus on God’s wisdom. When we converse with Him and read the words He inspired, we’re better prepared to make wise choices and stand guard against the uninvited enemy of our souls.
Due to my experience, I have a visual representation in my memory—not one I cherish—of our enemy, the devil, who lies in wait. However, my friends, there’s no need to fear. When we as believers look to God, He sharpens our vision with His Word. What an encouraging truth!
The snake is gone, but the memory is fresh.
God is faithful.
How has God protected you? Do you have a scary experience to share? A snake story, perhaps?
Bible verses are from the NKJV.