A Snake In The Grass--Temptations

Yesterday The Boy burst in the back door.

"Mom!  I think I saw a baby poisonous snake." The drama of the moment slightly elevating his deep, subsonic rumble of a voice.

Snakes are generally my duty.  I am the most comfortable around them of our family.  I know which ones I want to keep around (the green snakes that are harmless and eat bugs, the king snakes that are harmless but eat the venomous snakes.  Even the rat snakes that keep the mice and vole population down). I know which ones need to be killed on sight.  I am not afraid of snakes at all (wasps? Terrified.  Snakes?  Not remotely).  The Wonder Sweetie takes care of the stinging bugs and I take care of the snakes.

Me, hopping up from the computer to grab my shoes
"Is it in a cup?" (Thinking he and TWS caught it for me to identify)
"No"
"Does dad know about it?"
"No"
"Where was it?"
"On the walk between here and the barn.  I'll show you."

This was troubling because we have seen no venomous snakes up near the house.  There are rare copperheads in the fields, but we have not seen any up close.  To be on the walk between here and the barn means it was very close and if it was venomous, we will have to be a lot more careful.

We went along the path and searched for the baby snake to no avail.  This meant we still didn't know if it was a danger or a nuisance or a benefit, if my babies and dog and ducks were in danger or if we had little slithering allies to eat any vermin that would spread disease or to eat venomous snakes that would hurt us.

So we spent over half an hour googling images of baby snakes with The Boy commenting "It was more reddish than that.....almost like that but the head was more blunt.....no, that has more splotches, this one had more diamond shapes...."

We still don't know what snake it was.  As ar as I can tell, it sounded like a baby copperhead.  One baby means more babies.  It also might explain a sudden swelling in a hind foot and general malaise in our dog the past few days.  The leaves are thick on the ground right now, providing wonderful hiding places.  I am going to have The Wonder Sweetie, blow/mow all the leaves away from outbuildings and yard and we are going to be especially watchful.  No lifting logs or rocks without careful looking at where our fingers are.  No wandering around barefoot where we can't see.

This reminds me much of tempting thoughts.  There are some potential sins that, for each of us, we are fairly untempted by.  I have no desire, for example, to rob a bank.  However, I do have the temptation of fear sometimes or pride sometimes or anger sometimes.  Like this baby snake, sometimes other people are better equipped to see our temptations and wrong actions or thoughts when they are small and we can avoid them.  They do us a great favor by coming to us in love and saying "Honestly, your anger at this person is making you bitter" or "Your anxiety is not healthy." or "That tone you use with your children sounds really really mean.".  We might not like the idea that there is a tempting snake in our mental yard, but we can't fault the person who points it out to us.  What we have to do is to be diligent to listen, thankful for the care someone is giving, and be earnest about ridding the dried leaves that allow the temptations to hide close to our hearts.

For example, if our problem is snarky tones with our husbands or children, then getting rid of those leaves might mean to stop watching snarky television shows or unfollowing snarky facebook pages.  If our problem is bitterness, we might need to actively pray for those to whom we feel bitter.  If our problem is alcohol, we might need to ensure that we keep none around.  If our problem is gluttony, we might need to ensure that we keep no tempting foods.

It disturbs us when someone points out a snake in our grass, but they are doing us the greatest kindness.  That baby venomous snake means more are around and they will grow until their venom poisons our mind and bites those around us, the people with love, withering their hearts and bodied and spirits and minds.  Let's not lash out at those who say "I don't know if this is a problem, but this is what I see".  Let us thank them and the Lord who brought us wisdom and knowledge that we did not have.

PS Here is a cute picture of a duck to keep the idea of snakes out of your mind if you are afraid of them :D