On my way home from the airport last week I stopped by the outdoor store to replace a fishing rod I lost when I turned over in my kayak. (Don't ask.)
The store had added a new feature since my last visit: A showcase containing several Diamondback Rattlesnakes, and these were not the piddly specimens like the zoo keeps. These were Texas Rattlers!
One snake was especially active. I surmise he was freshly caught and had not yet resigned himself to a showcase destiny. He kept on the move and afforded us an opportunity to observe his coordination, strength, and lethal potential.
On the other side of the cage, a father and daughter stood and watched the great snake whose head was as large as the girl's palm. She appeared to be twelve or thirteen, and since it was a weekday, she evidently was on a date with her Dad.
The active reptile had been on my side of the cage while the more lethargic snakes were coiled en masse on the father-daughter side of the enclosure. But not finding an exit on my side, the newly-caged snake slithered through the rocks and cow skulls in the showcase over to the other side. In the process, he disturbed the other snakes and that side of the enclosure came alive. Snake heads raised from the coils and cocked to strike, tongues flicked, and rattles buzzed, “Don't tread on me!”
It was alarming, even from outside the glass. The teen's movement caught my eye. She adjusted her position, pulling her arms in close to her sides while simultaneously'instinctively'edging closer to her dad and tucking in slightly behind his mass away from the writhing reptiles.
There'in her new position'she was safe and secure, even more so than on the outside of the Plexiglas wall. The snakes became fuzzy in the foreground of my vision as I focused upon the man and his daughter. Over the course of twelve or thirteen years, and assorted circumstances, this dad had communicated in myriad ways to his daughter that she was secure with him; safe when sticking close to his side.
I don't know if the man was cognizant of his daughter's proximity, but I was. It was a subtle action that will be missed one day when the girl is a lady living in another town and married to a man created in the rough image of her father. Her small step-tuck made enough of an impression upon me that I am sitting down to talk with you about my thoughts upon reflection.
What a great visual of security and safety. Neither were evident in the man and girl's communication until her proximity changed in response to the snake. Then it was clear.
The moment afforded me the opportunity to consider the concepts of safety and security. The older I get and the longer I am on the journey, the more susceptible to fear I seem to become.
The young girl provided a visual of what I find myself doing with my Heavenly Father as my fears escalate. Certainly there are times when full of bravado and fire I step toward my enemy with cocky and arrogant independence. Maybe it is from being bitten more than I care to recount, but I find a new tendency surfacing in me: to tuck in, slightly behind my Father's mass, just as the girl did with her dad.
Psalm 91 begins, “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High / Will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.” The chapter goes on to talk about snakes and snares; refuge, rescue, and recompense. What is most striking'a great word when talking about serpents'is that all of the safety and security detailed in Psalm 91 hinges upon the pledge of Father to protect me.
So, my safety and security are contingent upon Father's faithfulness. I'd say that means I am safe and secure!
Even though assaulted on every side by our enemy, the devil, we are safe in our Father’s grasp, secure in His faithfulness. Even though tempted to fear, there is no evil great enough to warrant our fearful response. We are safe, and we are secure.
