Snake Charmer

Lately, I've gained followers in Russia, Japan, Taiwan and even Colombia!  I love it!  It does my heart good to know that someone is reading this--and the thought of people all over the world...WOW!  I hope that this blog helps--in some small way--with whatever it is you're going through.  Like I've said before, life is hard--for EVERYONE!

I guess it's because I'm a teacher, but I love explaining things with analogies and metaphors.  This is one of my favorites:

A girl was walking up a mountain in the freezing cold.  As she pulled her coat closer around her, she heard tiny cries.  She looked down, and at her feet was a snake.  "Please," said the snake, "please help me.  I'm freezing to death.  Please take pity on me and pick me up." (Yes, I know snakes don't talk, but it's a metaphor--go with it!)

The little girl looked down at the snake, and for a brief moment, she felt sorry for it.  "No," she told the snake.  "I'm sorry, but if I pick you up, you'll bite me."

"Please," implored the snake.  "I won't bite you; I promise.  I'm so very cold--I'm close to death.  I'm one of God's creatures, just like you.  Please?  I know you have a good heart.  Please, help me before it's too late."

The girl looked at the snake again, looked at the snow that was beginning to fall from the sky, and looked back at the snake.  It was right--it would freeze to death if she didn't save it.  She thought about how cruel it would be to just walk away from one of God's creatures, and she couldn't imagine being cruel, so she stooped down and picked up the snake.

"Th-thank you," the snake told her.  "Please...put me inside your coat so that I can get warm."

The girl did as the snake asked, pulled her coat closer and started up the hill again.  Suddenly, she felt an agonizing stabbing in her heart as the snake bit her.

The girl grabbed the snake and tossed it to the ground.  As she fell to the earth, the poison coursing through her body, she cried, "But...why?  Why did you bite me?  I gave you shelter.  I saved you, and you bit me?  Why?"

The snake hissed, "You knew what I was when you picked me up!" and slithered away.

We've all known snakes.  And maybe we've even handled a few when we didn't realize their poisonous nature.  We've all heard the promises...and many of us have survived the bite! But why...why on earth would we pick them up when we know better?  Why do we second-guess ourselves when our intuition tells us that we're in danger of being bitten?  I'm happy to report that I came close to picking up a snake this weekend but did not!  I recognized him and kept my distance.  Can you say the same?  Have a terrific Tuesday!(And thanks again for reading! Tell a friend!)