SNOW SNAKES
My husband was a letter carrier for 27 years before having to retire with disability because of his deteriorating health. During the time he was delivering mail, he wrote an article for the church newsletter called “Snow Snakes.” Because of this crazy winter we have had, the snow reminded me of this article. I will quote the first two paragraphs of his writing and then put my spin on his subject of snow snakes.
Larry wrote “Most of you reading this article have probably never heard of snow snakes let alone actually having seen them. I was in that same situation until about 35 years ago. Let me assure you they are real. I have seen and encountered several in the time since then. They, on rare occasions, can be deadly. Mostly when you come in contact with them it results in a painful experience. As the name implies, they reside in the snow. Not just any snow. There has to be an amount of snow for them to cone out. A light dusting will never result in finding them. Once you have two or more inches of snow, you have the perfect conditions for you to come in contact with snow snakes. They never come to the surface of the snow, but lay buried in the snow. They prefer to be in the deepest part of the snow. They can be anywhere but usually are found in areas where grass grows in the summer time.
I first heard about and came in contact with snow snakes the first winter I was a letter carrier. Having been hired in the month of November I did not have long to wait for the first major snowfall. The morning of that snowfall I was told by the old-timers to watch out for the snow snakes. I thought they were just pulling my leg. To my surprise they weren’t joking. I soon came face to face with my first snow snake. Luckily being young I avoided any harm from this first snake. I was not nearly as lucky in future occasions. As a result of these snow snakes I have had painful swelling in my ankles and knees. These are the most likely places to bear the attack of a snow snake.”
The fact that these snow snakes are so sneaky (say that three times in a row!) made me think about a verse in 1 Peter 5:8, “Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks around like a roaring lion seeking whom he might devour.” Out in the wild, the lion waits to sneak up on its victim and attacks when they least expect it. The lion waits patiently until he finds a prey that is weak and vulnerable.
Years ago, when my daughter was about 8, I took her and her friend to the zoo. I always loved going and seeing all the animals and getting the reactions from my kids. Well, this particular day we had seen the elephants, the monkeys and were headed for the lion’s cage. When we got there the “mommy” lion was laying on a rock sunning and watching her three cubs running around playing with each other. My daughter said, “I wonder where the “daddy” lion is.” About that time, we heard some ferocious roaring coming from behind the rocks (I was sure glad those bars were there!) and here came the lion strutting his stuff. He paced back and forth and roared, looking at the people gathered in front of the cage. All of a sudden, he stopped and looked at us, turned his rear end to the bars, raised his tail and shot ….! Well, you can guess what he shot! For some reason, my body jerked into action and I pushed my daughter and friend one way and I jumped the other. Needless to say, some of the “liquid” splashed on my daughter. The look on my daughter’s face was priceless! Somewhere between being shocked and mortified. I was laughing so hard, tears were running down my face, as we made our way to the restroom to clean up. When we came out of the restroom, you can be sure we headed in the opposite way from the lion’s cage!
That is exactly how the devil attacks us. He is always watchful, ready to attack us when we least expect it: times when we are feeling low because a loved one has died or we are feeling painful and laying in bed with a sickness; times that we just don’t have enough money to pay the bills and buy food for our family; times that we have seen a movie that had scenes we should not have watched or words that we have become calloused to; times that it is easier to take a drink of alcohol or inject drugs into our system because life is too hard to face right now. The devil can sneak into our minds, even before we realize it. There are times at church or when I am praying, that all of a sudden, I realize I am thinking about something else instead! Even in times that we are focused on doing good or spending time with our God, we have to be on the alert. We have to be vigilant or alert, to the spiritual pitfalls of life and take appropriate steps to make certain we do not fall to his cunning tricks of deceit! Ephesians 6:10-13 reads “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” This scripture goes on to say what parts of spiritual armor we should put on in order to be able to fight the forces of evil that war against us every day. The parts of armor listed are: belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, feet with gospel of peace, shield of faith, helmet of salvation, and the only offensive part is the sword the word of God. We have to always be aware and we must keep the scriptures so embedded within our hearts that we can defend ourselves when evil does come to pull us away from what we know that God wants us to do or be.
So, you are wondering, what does all I just talked about, have to do with the snow snakes, that my husband had written about and what in the world are these snow snakes? A snow snake is a garden hose that has been left out in the winter and when covered up with snow, is just waiting for you to get tangled up in and fall. My husband fell quite a few times trudging through the snow to deliver mail and got tangled up in that hose and fell flat, without warning. That is so true in our lives. Life can hit us hard, make us fall, because the devil is always waiting for us to come along, stumble and fall. He is ready when we are at our weakest to take us down a dark path instead of always following the path that is full of light with God’s love.
Be always watchful! Lion’s are sneaky, they can raise their tail and “shoot” at you without warning. And, as in the case of the snow snakes, can make you stumble and fall! So next time you are at the zoo, don’t stand too close to the lion’s cage! And when you are out walking or playing out in the snow, watch out for those “snow snakes!”
Till next time! Keela