Fear not…

“Fear not, for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.”

Isaiah 41:10.

          Have you ever experienced fear that made you unable to move? That numbed your brain? That made you laugh at yourself afterwards? A few weeks ago, I experienced that kind of fear in my laundry room. Here’s the story:

          “Unhh! Oh no! How did that get in here?”

I didn’t dare get close. I stared at it silently for a few minutes. It didn’t move. My head said it was dead, but my emotions said it was creepy and might crawl up my pants leg. It petrified me for a long minute.

Then I got angry. “How dare a snake crawl unbidden into my laundry room!” Since I didn’t dare touch the slimy thing, how was I to get it out of there? And were there others? live others (present but hidden), also? I tried to ignore it, but every day I would check to see if the loathsome thing was still there.

The snake was tiny, about half an inch in diameter with stripes along its length of one foot or so. I might have thought it pretty if I’d seen it outside. But how dare it invade my house!

Taking the insect and pest spray, I sprayed it good, though afraid it would jump up and attack me. It continued to lie still. “Ok, I’m overreacting. But my insides feel squishy and scared.”

Finally, I got up the nerve to get close enough to do something about it. I couldn’t just let it rot in my laundry room, could I? But neither could I pick it up.

         “Ah ha! The vacuum can pick it up! Then I can just throw the whole bag away in the trash barrel. “I carried out this plan, still feeling squishy inside, afraid it would suddenly come to life and crawl inside my shirt and around my neck. But knowing it was too tiny to squeeze my neck much gave me a little courage.

         “There,” I said with relief. “It’s in the trash barrel. Now the Sanitation Department can deal with it.”

I went about my work, thanking God for being with me and upholding me.

“So will I save you and you shall be a blessing. Fear not, but let your hands be strong.”

Zechariah 8:13b.

by Judith Vander Wege, 2-04-2022