Creative juices flowed as my fingers raced across the keyboard. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a movement. Cutting my gaze to the right I discovered a skinny brown streak slivering toward me at lightning speed. I lifted my bare feet as it zipped under my chair and my brain finally caught up with my eyes–Ahhh! Snake!

Before I could react, the sneaky invader disappeared behind a large piece of furniture. My heart raced faster than the slivering serpent. I reviewed the scene in my mind, trying to identify what kind of snake had entered our house as an uninvited guest. My computer glasses, strong enough to read at close range, cause my vision to blur at a distance. Without a clear view of the snake, I clung to the memory of a skinny brown crawly thing and hoped for a garter snake ID.

Image by PublicDomainImages from Pixabay

Unwelcome visitor

No matter the unwelcome visitor’s type, I didn’t want it in the house. As a farm girl, I’m accustomed to seeing snakes, but only in their outside domain.

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1)

The devil utilized a wily serpent to separate Adam and Eve from God. He deceived Eve into partaking fruit from the tree their LORD God had forbidden them to eat. This mistake, their sin, changed everything. Yes, their eyes opened to good and evil, their nakedness, and to the seriousness of their mistake. Banished from the garden, their relationship with their Father was forever transformed.

Our Creator punished the snake, too.

So the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head and you will strike his heal.” (Genesis 3:14-15)

Ahhh! Snake!

Enmity between woman and snake–definitely!

So . . . what does a person do with a snake in the house? We knew it wouldn’t be easy to find–too many places to hide. Sweet hubby distributed sticky traps in hopes skinny snake might crawl over and stick.

Mostly, I prayed. That sir snake would go back out the way he came in (we don’t know where). I prayed I avoided an up close interaction with the intruder when on a middle of the night trip to the bathroom.

Four days after his first appearance, our snake presented himself again. My eyes maintained a close alert at all times, but especially when we returned home after being away. I hoped to spot our unwanted visitor in his search for a way out. I spied him in the doorway of a bedroom. It was then I had a better view of him and my heart went bumpity bump at the sight.

My hero

Thankfully, husband was at home. At my call of snake sighting, he came. The serpent scooted away, but hid in a corner behind the door. With broom and an aluminum racket my hero killed the snake. My fears had been justified. The snake was a young copperhead, not fully grown so his thinness had confused my blurred vision, but definitely a poisonness snake.

My prayers for protection from this unwanted visitor apply to the another unwanted visitor as well–the enemy. The devil is wily and crafty. He seeks to sneak into our lives before we’re even aware of his presence. Be alert!

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4:7)

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. (1 Peter 5:8-9)

I’m grateful and overwhelmed by our Father’s protection and care, but I confess–I still watch where I put my feet on those nightly trips to the bathroom.

Wishing you joy and blessings, my friends!