I guess I’m one of those crazy people who actually likes snakes. To my wife’s great consternation, I had three as pets (all in aquariums) until divesting them a few years ago. Snakes are truly unique creatures and capable of some incredible feats impossible for other members of the animal kingdom. Their downside is that you usually see them when you least expect them and they scare the bejebes out of you. Of course, Eve’s encounter with a serpent years ago hasn’t helped their reputation much either.
About forty-five years ago now, my cousin Guy and I were going around the riverbend. This was a mostly dirt road that went down from my home on the Valley Pike, followed along the North Fork of the Shenandoah River for about a mile or so before winding its way up the steep S-hill to come out on Route 11 again near Guy’s house. Since it had little traffic, it was great for hikes, bikes, and hayrides, and the fact that it brushed the river was certainly an added bonus.
One afternoon, Guy and I decided to run/walk the riverbend for fun which we did from time to time. We started out at my home and were about half way around jogging along the roadway near the riverbank. As we ran, I happened to glance down and see my sneakered foot right in front of the head of a brownish snake. My adrenalin kicked in and my jog instantly morphed into a sprint as I yelled, “Copperhead!”
Guy eventually caught up with me and I told him what I had seen. As we talked between breaths, our fears increased. One of us had heard that snakes often follow you (which they do not) and that motivated us to keep moving at an exhausting rate.
It also prevented us from going back to verify that what I had seen was indeed a snake and not a brown stick, and that it was in fact a copperhead as opposed to a corn snake, milk snake, water snake, or a young black rat snake all of which resemble copperheads to various degrees.
Fear does that. It prevents us from accurately identifying our threats and keeps us running until we’re drained and confused. It has a way of preventing rational thought and promotes unreasonable reactions.
A half mile later we were still out of breath as we continued to push ourselves along glancing over our shoulders occasionally to verify that he wasn’t gaining on us. He wasn’t. In fact, if it was a snake, the encounter probably scared him far worse than it did us and he likely either froze in his “tracks” or slithered discreetly into the grass beside road where he waited for some toad or mouse to come by for dinner.
How many times do we run from things we aren’t even sure of? How many of us are still running from things in our pasts that may not even have been harmful? How many times do myths and stories we’ve heard fuel our fears and keep us running for no reason?
Let’s ask the Lord to help us examine those things that scare us and to get the facts before we flee in fear. Let’s ask Jesus to help us face them and if need be, take appropriate action to keep “real snakes” from biting us as well as those of our imaginations. And let’s not live the rest of our lives running from our pasts.
Oh God, redeem and restore us. Protect and bless us we pray. In Jesus Name, Amen.
Blessings, George