After a recent trip, I needed to spend some serious time communing with my laundry room. It’s my least favorite part of vacation.
Well, that and the vacation being over.
I was chatting on the phone with my mom about the trip when I turned the corner to the laundry room. I stopped in my tracks. My declawed cat had cornered this:
(I’m talking about the snake coiled on my floor, not the hair and goldfish crumbs that my camera captured so beautifully).
I grabbed a nearby broom, urging the cat away and then, I SCREAMED LIKE A GIRL.
Because y’all, there was a SNAKE ON MY FLOOR.
I forgot my Mom on the other end of the line until she said, “Your Dad is coming over. He’s bringing the hoe.”
You have no idea how that sentence comforted me.
My daughter grabbed my camera and I stood in a combat position with the broom and tried not to wet myself. I also tweeted the event. Because fear brings out my multi-tasking skills.
My son locked himself and his 2 year old sister in my bedroom. We’re a fearful lot.
The minute I knew my Dad was heading my way with his trusty garden hoe, I relaxed. I have countless memories of him using that instrument of death on many snakes, including our neighbor’s pet snake he thought was biting her. He has a gift. (Oh, yes he did).
He sent my daughter away, “She won’t want to watch this,” he said seriously as he walked thru the door.
And I thought he knew my kids well. They live for moments just like these.
As I heard the tell-tale “CHOP” “CHOP” “CHOP,” I heaved a heavy sigh. My Dad. Is. Awesome.
And just like that, my Dad SAVED MY LIFE from the garden snake (that looked suspiciously like a Copperhead).
I swept up the dirt left from the hoe and nearly BROKE MY GIZZARD when a piece of the tail started to move. As I wiped up the blood, my kids snuck around the corner.
“That was so cool!” they agreed wholeheartedly.
I just had one thought: I wonder if I would have been as brave if my Dad hadn’t come?
I felt courageous because I knew my father could handle my problem.
I felt courageous because I wasn’t alone.
And you probably guessed the answer: I put the “ch” in chicken.
When I face my own personal battles and feel like I’m losing, I often forget that my Heavenly Father is my protector and has no limitations. He is aware of my weakness. He knows my secret fears and helps me conquer them.
He always answers every call.
He can handle my problems.
_____
P.S. About 5 minutes after the snake incident, my daughter screamed, “There’s another snake!!” I ran around the corner to find a plastic toy shaped like a slithering snake in the same place.
I grounded everyone.
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