I feel sure everyone is sick of snake stories, but I must tell you that I have rid the earth of one more today. It was much less climactic than my last snake encounter. This is the way I prefer them to be. I was in my car when I saw a rattlesnake in the road. I ran it over. Then I backed up and ran it over again. Then I went forward again and ran it over again. Then I backed up and ran it over once more. It was dead. At least that is one snake that won't make the trip a half mile down the road to my yard.
No more snake stories today--- moving on.
I remain amazed by many things that I see and hear here in the Valley. I have thought it was because I am new to the area, but I was surprised to see that that may not be completely true. In Bible study last night at our small log cabin church, I noticed that all of the ladies had their heads turned away from the video screen and toward the windows on the west side of the sanctuary. I looked outside and saw a gorgeous scene of the sun setting over the mountain in the midst of approaching storm clouds. The colors were mostly red and purples with some orange and yellow mixed in. It was beautiful. How refreshing to see that the folks who have seen these things their entire lives are still amazed at the beauty and still stopped in their tracks to take it all in. It was hard to take our eyes off of the view as we all listened to the video but looked at the changing sky.
I can add this to my list of the things that are different here. There is a freedom to enjoy here that I have not allowed myself to notice in other places. It may very well be there, but I have been too busy and distracted to see it. There are very few folks here that I would consider "fancy", thus the pressure to be dressed well and made-up is nonexistent. There is among the people here an unspoken comfort in their own skin. There is a transparency and an openness and a level of that enjoyment of life and of friends and of nature here that has been therapeutic for my heart.
I am hopeful that my family and I will continue to be distracted by the colors in the sun and the storms in the mountains and the valleys of life.
Psalm 19:1-2 "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge."
My neighbor would always chastise me for killing snakes in my yard. She told me to look at their heads to determine the shape. Diamond shape was poisonous and rounded was not. They all looked diamond shaped to me. Consequently, I made a unilateral pact with all the snakes in the vicinity of my house. If I ventured into the wetlands, they were free to bite and kill me. If they ventured into my yard, I'd take their heads off with shovels. I think it was an equitable and reasonable compromise. Dave Dermody
ReplyDelete