Just about every walk I take begins with a prayer that God will not allow any snake in the universe to cross my path or enter my field of vision. And thankfully, in all my years of country living, I’ve had only one up-close encounter with a “good snake” (an oxymoron if ever I heard one) … until now.
Silly me, I never thought I needed to utter that prayer when I simply walked into the garage to fetch something from the freezer. More’s the pity as I was recently greeted by a big “good snake” (eye roll) at the bottom of the short stairway leading from our house to the garage. I hadn’t bothered to turn on the garage light because it was still daytime. As a result, I came perilously close to stepping right on that nasty serpent, a thought that still makes me shudder.
To say I made a hasty retreat back into the house is a huge understatement. On the bright side, it’s encouraging to know I can still move that fast when properly motivated. I ran through the house yelling, “Snake! Snake!” as I searched for my husband who had, as it turned out, just stepped into the shower.
Shower, schmower—this was a bon a fide emergency and soaking wet or not, Joe needed to deal with it pronto.
“You have to get that snake NOW or I will never go in the garage again,” I shrieked.
Bless his heart, he rallied to the cause, hopped out of the shower and went snake-stalking in his birthday suit. After heroically grabbing it and getting bitten on his hand in the process (eeeeeyeww!!), my hubby dashed across our lawn and flung the nasty reptile into the woods. (Don’t worry, our house is very secluded, so there was almost no risk of an indecent exposure charge.)
I wanted to go all King Henry VIII on that snake—“Off with its head!”—but Joe insisted that “good snakes” (eye roll) should be allowed to live because they eat mice and other pesky creatures. “Hogwash!” I say. Snakes, poisonous or not, are at the very top of my pesky list.
Nevertheless, he who grabs the snake earns the right to determine its fate, so into the woods it went, its icky head very much intact.
This whole incident would’ve made a fabulously entertaining YouTube video, but alas, I was too traumatized to video it. And even if that weren’t the case, I actually value my very long and happy marriage far more than two minutes of social media glory.
I know it’s illogical for me to be so afraid of “good snakes.” Joe swears the vampire-like bite he sustained didn’t even hurt much. Nevertheless, had I stepped on that slithery creature and been bitten, I would most certainly have died on the spot, venom or no venom, from sheer terror. No doubt about it. End of story. Hello, heaven.
I recall no childhood experience that caused my intense snake-a-phobia. I know the Bible tells us to “fear not,” but this is an instinctual, involuntary reaction and I can’t imagine it going away. The best I can do is to refuse to allow it to keep me from doing what I need or want to do.
So yes, I will continue to walk down those stairs into our garage. I now turn on the light and pray first, but, doggone it, I’m going in there.
Faith can conquer many fears, but those that remain must never control us. Pray, trust God, and do it afraid.
“Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or in dread of them, for the Lord your God is the One who is going with you. He will not desert you or abandon you.”” – Deuteronomy 31:6