Leaping Snakes!
My granddaughter came for a day visit, bringing her school, hoping for a fun outing with her Marmee.
After breakfast and some successful phonics work, I promised to take her out for a swing before we ran errands. She had confessed something to me earlier in the morning. After talking gently with her and seeing her conscience had already begun to work on her we moved on. It would mean she would miss out on a hoped for outing.
She is growing and maturing, listening more, thinking thoughtfully through the words being spoken. I can see her mind sifting through my motives and my underlying desire to help her.
A call from the bank let me know we needed to drop off some paperwork for my dad. She and I were walking outside as I answered. As we rounded the corner and passed the shrubbery a black movement struck at us just below my shoulders. In a split second, I realized it was not our cat, Shadow, but a huge snake. We jumped, yelled, and picked up our pace. It brushed her leg but didn’t strike.
I apologized to the bank lady and hung up. My granddaughter and I had a rapid fire discussion about what had just happened as we continued to hurry away, glancing back to the grass to see if it was in pursuit. It wasn’t.
After our adrenaline subsided, we decided to forego the swinging session and deliver the papers to the bank and get some lunch. We called her mom on the way and told her our story.
“Marmee swat at it…” she said excitedly.
“Your daughter thought Nalla (our old cat) needed saving, she rushed and picked her up,” I said.
After lunch, she and I talked about the original snake in the garden and how he takes pleasure in misleading us. How when we desire something, if we allow it to cause us to sin, we will try to justify our decision.
I said, “See, how subtle he is? We have to be careful not to let our desires cause us to sin against God. Not if we claim to love Him best.”
God warned Cain in Genesis 4:6 (NIV)
But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”
When you brush against sin, it can help you be more aware of what is lurking in the bushes. Not in fear, but in preparation.
