Its not like I didn’t know. Before I got in my car to drive the twenty minutes to this quiet spot on the river, I knew there were snakes in the water. A snake slithered out from underneath the rock I was sitting on in the same area just two weeks before.
I knew there were snakes in these waters.
There I sat soaking up the lovely scenery and listening to the river water cascade over the rocks in the shallow area. I watched the birds fly over head and two fishermen casting their lines into the stream. For a moment, I forgot there’s snakes in the water.
I happened to glance down about five feet from where I was sitting. Minnows were flitting around the shoreline. They jumped in unison. I absent mindedly thought to myself that there must be a predator chasing them.
Then I noticed a stick under the water’ s surface just a few feet from me. The stick seemed to have a regular color pattern across it. Then I noticed the end of the stick above the surface of the water and the two eyes looking at me.
When I stood to get a better look at it, the “stick” swam underneath a rock.
Hyper-focused
Now, I’m in hyper-vigilant, hyper-aware, hyper-focus mode. All I can think about is how close a snake might be to my position. I started to spend every moment scanning the ground and water near me.
I began to wonder what kind of snake it was. It could have been a copperhead from the markings. But I’m told that harmless water snakes can appear to be copperheads when they are in the water. Oh great, I thought, now I need to study to be a wildlife conservation agent so I can distinguish a dangerous snake from a harmless snake.
This has become an exhausting exercise and not why I came to sit by the river. I am no longer enjoying the beauty and serenity of nature.
I mentioned the snake to the two nearby fishermen. After our conversation, I noticed the frequency that they looked around them while standing in the water, scanning the area much like I had done. Had I passed on a friendly warning? Or had I passed on my paranoia and fear?
A Spiritual Metaphor
It’s not like I don’t know that there are forces in the world that would like to defeat, discourage, and paralyze me. But I would rather have a relaxing day sitting at the water’s edge than deal with realities like that. Why am I shocked and frightened when the world lives by its godless nature and acts like the world?
“This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.
The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.”
1 Corinthians 2:14-15
Just as I cannot go out into nature and avoid encounters with nature’s creatures, I cannot live a spiritual life in the physical world without encountering the powers and people that also live in the physical world. Instead of hyper-fixating on the realities that I don’t like and cannot change, I need to develop a strategy to live wisely among the realities that naturally occur in the world while still engaging with all that is good and beautiful.
Three Things to Remember When I Encounter the Snakes in Life
Balance.
Metaphorically speaking, there will be snakes in the waters of life. That’s just how it is. Some snakes are dangerous, some are harmless. Maybe I’ll see them, maybe I won’t. But I can’t let that reality keep me from seeing and experiencing everything else in front of me.
At the river, I watched the hawks flying overheard, listened to the sound of the water, admired the fish swimming, and even noticed a group of dragonflies in the act of keeping the species alive. Nature is a beautiful thing. When I am fixated on the things that bother me, I cannot see anything else.
Boundaries.
You probably won’t find me swimming in the river at that particular spot. Since I am not a wildlife conservation agent, I cannot tell a friendly snake from an unfriendly snake. It is appropriate for me to keep a safe distance. It is appropriate for me to enjoy that spot while keeping myself on the look-out.
Boundaries require balance. Be aware but not hyper-fixated. Accept the realities of life without missing the beauty of life.
Bravery.
I’ve been bitten before (metaphorically). Maybe I’ll get bitten again. But I don’t want to live in so much fear that I hole up in my living room watching Netflix and waiting for Jesus to come.
The world and all of life is glorious and beautiful. I don’t want to miss the wonder and enjoyment of it. By the grace of God, I will enjoy life when I find a good balance, live within healthy boundaries, and muster up a little bravery.
“But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.” Job 12: 7-10
“Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.” Hebrews 13:15
Copyright@ TABoland 2023
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