Snake in the Grass

I hate snakes.  I try to convince myself they are just part of the animal kingdom so I don’t make my kids scared of them too, but really, they make me uneasy terrified. 

Ok, more like I feel I need to do deep breathing exercises and keep from throwing up when we see one at the zoo or Tot Time at the Nature Center.

But…there was one little snake that gave me a good laugh, a lot of adrenaline, and a great lesson.  Here’s the story of how we met…

I started running a few years ago. 

For me, running symbolized the fight for my marriage when God began restoring us after many difficult years and being separated.

It was so painful some runs. 

I would want desperately to give up, but I felt if I gave up on my run, it was as if I was giving up on my marriage. 

That may sound ludicrous, but it was during those runs I worked and prayed through some of the most trialing times of my life. 

So despite gut aches, tears flooding my eyes and impairing my vision, breathing difficulties, and exhaustion, I ran my little heart out.

It was during one of the most difficult runs I ever remember that God taught me an unforgettable lesson that comes back to my mind on days that I find myself picking the chains of the past back up to shackle them to my feet.

It was the hottest part of the summer when I knew better than to run much passed the rising of the sun.  But the morning had gotten away from me, and I knew I had to get out there and get it done.

As I began to run, right away I could feel the heat and intensity of the humidity crush me on every side.  Once I start, I do not stop, so there was no turning back.

I prayed.  I pushed.  I cried.  I tried to focus.  I tried to keep my breathing steady, but the humidity made me start to gasp.  The more I gasped, the more panicked I became.  I looked down at the ditch and wondered if I fell into the grass, would anyone find me if I couldn’t yell out. 

I knew I was going to have to stop, but how could I? 

I couldn’t give up on my run, just like I would not give up on my marriage. 

I cried out to God, pleading with Him to save my marriage, pleading with Him to carry me back home.  

The corner was coming where I’d turn back to town, and I begged God to help me before I got to the end of the gravel road. 

And then, just as I turned from the gravel,

 a snake slithered out of the grass from the shoulder of the road, right in front of my feet.

That snake caught me so off guard and startled me so much that I felt as if I’d been hit by a bolt of lightning.  I think it must have been just the shot of adrenaline I needed because I screamed and ran faster than ever the mile and a half left to our front steps. 

About a half mile after I saw that snake, I started laughing out of just pure joy of how unbelievably good our God is. 

How He rescues us, even if sometimes He has to rescue us from ourselves.  

Oh, how we so often need Him to rescue us from ourselves.

From those days when fear creeps back in, no doubt whispered in my ear from the enemy, playing his card at just the right time – a time when he witnesses my vulnerability – tired from a bad night’s sleep, disappointed from a “discussion gone wrong,” hurt from a harsh word.

Or those days when I try to do things myself instead of surrendering them to God, and I end up feeling depleted and not good enough after desperately trying to do the work that only HE can do.

It gets tiring, running life’s race with shackles on.  Downright exhausting.

There’s nowhere in God’s Word that tells us to stay in chains – bound to the past, bound to guilt or shame, or bound to fear.

In fact, He has a tremendous desire and goes to great lengths for us to be FREE.

Psalm 107:13-16 shows us His powerful, pursuing, and relentless way of rescuing us: by “SNAPPING OUR CHAINS” and “BREAKING DOWN OUR PRISONS…”

Psalm 107:13-16 New Living Translation (NLT)