Sunday Morning Surprise

It was an ordinary Sunday morning much like any other previously passed, but this one would turn out to be a little different as things transpired. A morning trip to the bathroom for a shave and a shower aren't usually too exciting, but this particular Sunday proved otherwise. After I made my way into the bathroom and commenced with the turning on of the shower, there was what looked to be a toy snake on the floor about five inches from my toes. It was behind the trash can next to the wall and toilet. It didn't move (as a toy snake shouldn't) until after shaving I proceeded toward the trash can again to see the snake revert to a defensive pose. That's when I knew this was not a toy!



If Dianna had been the one in the bathroom instead of me, there's no telling what noises and commotion would have sounded forth through our house. Since the snake was acting defensive the following attempt to procure the specimen did not entail laying hands on it. Let's just say the snake was cleverly corralled into a mesh net that used to hold bathroom toys. After some pictures were taken for proof of the sneaky serpent, the harmless reptile was relocated to the mulch bed in front of the house on that cold, Sunday morn. It was not permanently disposed of due to the rodent population around the Butt house that needs to be kept in check. This will be one of the few times that PETA would be proud of me, but the details of other hunting and killing excursions will be intentionally unsaid at this time.



Jesus told his disciples as he was sending them out to "be wise as serpents and harmless as doves" (Matthew 10:16). It seems as if the snake had a bit of wisdom as it found its way into a warm house to escape the cold of the winter. Can you blame the serpent for relocating to a comfortable climate to station his scales. It's just that the scales needed to be stationed somewhere else before Dianna awakened!

We are told by James to "Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you" (4:7). This was something Adam and Eve did not do, as they gave in to the tempting powers of the serpent. The snake was trying to flee from me even though it had nowhere to go but into the net that captured it. Are we living our lives in submission to God to make the devil flee from us?