Read, Write, Love, Repeat

When faced by the thing that scares you to your core, what do you do?  If you haven’t already read last week’s blog, take a few minutes to peruse so this one will make more sense.

As you may remember, I came face to face with one of my biggest fears last week.  I was poised at the tipping point of choice: whether to let fear (and snakes, well, one snake) confine me to my house, or to put on my big girl panties and handle it.  I’m sure you’ve been waiting with baited breath…

There it was, in my koi pond filter, uninvited and way beyond unwelcome, all slithery.  And trying desperately to swim away from me, clearly terrified (like me).  Really only about 18 inches long, not even a size that would actually eat my face off.   But the fear that threatened to well up in my chest was the size of an anaconda.

Had I not been prepared for the possibility of such an encounter, I would have quickly descended into hysterics and my California friends would have heard me screaming from my Texas backyard 1600 miles away.  While I was prepared, I did not, however, pause to measure my intruder/visitor or inquire of him if he was, indeed, venomous.  I did what any reasonable woman would do.  Dropped the lid to the filter closed, made a beeline for the back door, and locked it behind me.  Because the snake was going to chase after me and open the door if I left it unlocked.  Rational.  Ahem.

Was I afraid of the snake?  Oh. Yes.  But after staring down the object my fear, I made a choice.

I called in the cavalry.  Or at the very least, I called in the snake service.  Yes, it’s a thing.

Even though I was in general prepared for the possibility of a legless pond demon, I was not equipped to, um, rectify the situation on my own.  When the (four, count them FOUR) guys from the snake service arrived and sussed out the situation, the snake was already long gone.  But they performed a thorough inspection of the whole yard, put out snake repellent, which is also a thing, and talked me through what I could the next time.  Yes. Next time.

As long as I have a koi pond, the intrepid gentlemen with whom I would not trade careers for any amount of money assured me, there is a possibility of water snakes.  They also assured me they were 99% sure my uninvited guest was not of the venomous persuasion, nor were the other varieties in the immediate area.  Needless to say we will not be getting rid of the pond.  It takes up most of the yard.  Also I love it.

So what’s a girl to do?  She goes on Amazon and buys a snake stick.  ALSO a thing.  It’s a 5 foot long grabber device with which I can stand at a “safe” distance, grab the snake, and fling it over the back fence to the stream/culvert that runs behind our house, safely returning it to its happy home.  Easy peasy.

Beyond telling you the rest of the story as a fun illustration how different my life is from what it once was and how I’m staring down the spawn of Satan as a result, I must again draw the parallels between my exciting reptile adventure and how we as fellow warriors in Christ deal with fear.

First: I didn’t go it alone.  I called in people who knew more than I did.  When you’re facing a scary situation, wise counsel can be crucial  We aren’t equipped to handle some things on our own.

Second:  I got the information.  Fear has been described using this acronym: False Evidence Appearing Real.  I had a false sense of the peril I was under.  My unwelcome guest was not, in fact, venomous.  While I’m still not a fan, having the real information, the facts, assured me I wasn’t in any real danger, and I was far less fearful.  Things in my life may appear really frightening, daunting, paralyzing, but when I know the real facts, they are relatively benign, losing their power to stop me dead in my tracks.

Third: I have a game plan.  Taking steps for “next time” can make fear feel far less daunting.   The snake repellent is a proactive step.  And yes, I bought more of that on Amazon as well.  Equipping myself with a snake-wrangling tool to handle the situation on my own was empowering.  We can take the same steps when facing a situation that causes fear to seep in around the edges.  Think through what you can do to face and manage the situation, write it down if you need to, and equip yourself with the right tools.

I’ve heard it said that the Bible tells us 366 NOT to fear.  That’s one for every day of the year, even in a leap year.  God really wants us to get the point: we shouldn’t let fear stop us from living the lives He is calling us to.

I’ve heard a lot about fear this week in the wake of the most divisive election in my memory.  From BOTH sides.  It breaks my heart.  I don’t want to live in fear and I don’t want my fellow humans to be shackled with it either!

It’s hard to “fear not” when things feel uncertain.  But we can.  Glean from the steps I learned in the wake of the Halloween Snake Terror of 2016 (as I’ve come to think of it). When you’re faced with something that terrifies you:

Isaiah 41:10

     So do fear for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.