Friday, December 21, 2012

The night I outran the anaconda.


 



I think we can agree,
that as Mommas
we would do just about anything to keep our children healthy and safe.

There is something that takes over when your child is sick or in danger.

Some unmistakable strength and power.


We become "Wonder Women" in our own rights.


 




My little guy was sick with bronchitis.

It was his second bout with it in one month. He had caught a horrible relapse and this time the fever had gotten higher than his first time just a few weeks before.

I hurried to my bathroom and grabbed the Tylenol from the medicine cabinet.

I opened the bottle, and as I began to pour it into the small measuring cup, I noticed something wasn't right.

It was red. Cherry to be exact.

My little guy is allergic to RED.

I had accidentally purchased the wrong medicine.

Not sure why, because he has only been allergic to red for...I don't know,

his entire life!


I immediately called my neighbor to see if maybe she had some dye-free fever reducer on hand.

I was in luck!

She had grape...close enough.

I told my husband that I was going to run to the neighbor's house and grab the medicine.

He told me that he thought I should drive, because it was storming outside.

By this time, I had slipped on my cape and was already in Wonder Mom mode.


No need for an automobile.

I could fly

across the yard and be back in no time!







I threw on my jacket, grabbed some flip-flops, the appropriate foot wear for such a heroic feat, and headed out the door.


I ran down the stairs of my porch into the stormy night and began to cross over to my neighbor's lawn,

when suddenly!


My memory brought me back a few weeks prior.
It was a beautiful day, so we were outside with the kids playing.
My son walked across the yard to go to the neighbor's house when he shrieked loudly,

"Mom! There's a snake!"

In the middle of the grass, where our two yards meet, there was a snake...and it was still alive!
My super heroic husband came over and in no time beheaded the snake with a shovel.

No worries...right?

Except...he never told me what kind of snake it was.

All he said was,

"It wasn't a garden snake and you don't want to know what it was."

At that very moment as I entered my neighbor's yard, in the pouring rain, and in the very very dark night...

all I could think of was that snake.


It was an anaconda!




So,
what did I do?

I did what any smart heroic Wonder Woman Mom would do...

I began to run and scream for dear life into the dark of the night!

My flip-flops were soaked and began to slip, then one flew off my foot and into the dark.
This scared me more, so I ran faster.
And the faster I ran, the bigger the snake got.

And it grew friends!
Dozens of them!


I began to run like my life depended on it...
well at least I thought it did at that moment.

I am pretty sure I looked something like this...






Or was it more like this?






Either way...ehemm,
I was running for my life!

For. My. Life!


I finally arrived to my neighbor's door, grabbed the medicine from her, said my "thank you"s, just in time...

to have to run across the yard in the rain and jump over all of the ANACONDAS that were waiting for me in the dark wet grass.

I wish I could say, that by that point, I had gained my composure and had realized in the good functioning brain I had left, that there were no snakes, or that I could conquer whatever await me with strength and agility...

but,

no can do.

I wish I could say that I looked like this, ready to defeat the horror that awaited me...






But,
I am most positive, even though I had no witnesses to concur with me,
that I looked more like this...







At this point,
I began to pray.

Yes, finally...I prayed.


I prayed to make it across the yard with all of my toes still attached and without a snake hanging onto my ankle!

I imagine that I gave my Heavenly Father a nice giggle that night, as He watched me flail around the yard that was completely safe, and empty of all snakes.

(I believe He has an enormous sense of humor, since He created me with one.)

I prayed and quickly began to talk myself across the lawn to safety.


In the end,
after all of the commotion,
I escaped unscathed.

Free of any and all danger.

Whew!
That was close.


I can laugh about that night now, and realize how silly I was to allow myself to be so afraid of something that didn't even exist,
but at the time I was certainly terrified and really fearful.

A grown woman, scared like I was.
Boy, how the mind is a peculiar thing.

Did you know that over 90% of the things that we fear in our minds, never actually come to pass.


Never!


I don't know about you, but I don't want to live a life in fear.
I don't want my fears to get the best of me,
I want to give God the best of me.
I want to draw from the strength and power that God has placed in my heart and let it flow through every area of my life.

We don't have to run from our fears,
but instead, we should run to God with them.

Laying them at His feet.

It's a wonderful thing to be able to go to God with any fear that we have.
Even the silly things that we sometime fear.

Not only is He there to listen, He offers us the gift of peace when we do take our fears to Him.

I want to grab hold of the gift of peace He has offered and let it be my shield of courage!


I am so thankful to have His Well of strength and courage and peace to draw from!


A well that never runs dry.


Never!



Joshua 1:9
This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.


John 14:27
I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.



Psalm 91:4-8
He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter you with his wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection. Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day. Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday. Though a thousand fall at your side, though ten thousand are dying around you, these evils will not touch you.



Psalm 34:4
I prayed to the Lord, and he answered me. He freed me from all my fears.



Mark 5:36
Jesus told him, “Don’t be afraid; just believe.”




Do you have any funny stories to tell about your "Wonder Mom" abilities?

or

What has God revealed to you about a personal fear you may have had?


Please share your thoughts below!



 

1 comment:

  1. Ha! Ha! Ha! Oh man I totally got a visual of you flying across the yard. I'm sure you looked like that buff chick in the first photo. In fact I thought that was a self portrait for a second. ;) seriously if I had her thighs I would leap through the air like that every chance someone was looking. LOL! I love this post about fear because I have struggled with fear and anxiety over the 16 years my husband and I have been married. It's gotten better the longer we are married and the more mature I become in The Lord. But for me being alone for days at a time is hard. I worry about him, being alone with girls, I worry about me......I started praying every time I wake up with fear and anxiety.....praying for request I can think of for other people and every time God helps me find rest. Oh and we had a baby rattlesnake in our bedroom last summer and I levitated out of the room. Ha! Cool super mom power right? The levitating I mean.

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