Tread on Serpents

April 25, 2017

Luke 10:19

King James Version (KJV)

¹⁹ Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

[i]

Thirty or more years ago when we were searching for a home near La Sierra University, we spelled out several criteria. We wanted a home near enough for me to walk to work. It had to have four bedrooms, one for us, one for our boy and one for our girls, and one for a guest room especially for grandparents. We hoped it would have a swimming pool so we could keep an eye on what our kids and their friends were doing. We also hoped it would have access to countryside where we could walk for recreation. Of course, it also had to be in our price range.

The home we got couldn’t have matched these criteria any better. Its selling point to me was that it was situated in a little valley with desert hills on three sides. We could walk up into the hills by simply walking past three houses, and we were into the hills. During a normal year the hills turn a rich green color in the winter rains. For spring, summer and fall the hills are the color of dried grass.

Almost every day over the last 30 odd years we have walked at least some distance up into the hills, usually with a dog at our heels or galloping merrily ahead. The dog’s favorite pastime is chasing, unsuccessfully, every lizard that makes a mad dash to get out of our way. Occasionally it would be a bird, ground squirrel or rabbit. Even more rarely, there would be a lone coyote or as many as four or five them to give us a short thrill of the chase.

Sylvia and I have delighted ourselves in counting the number of species of flowers actually blooming on a particular walk. Usually we count anywhere between a dozen and two dozen species. During spring after the hills have turned brown, we find the richest number of flower species. The other day we had counted over 40 species and were at the very top of our La Sierra range and heading home down a very rough trail.

As I walked I suddenly felt something soft under my right foot, not the usual rock hard surface. In the shortest of moments, far shorter than it takes to think it, let alone write it, I shifted the weight off my right foot and made a lunge for Sylvia. I grabbed her by her waist and pushed her backwards and away. I guessed it might have been a snake I had stepped on and didn’t want her to be bitten. She thought I had lost my balance, which I have been doing since my bout with West Nile Virus, and fought to keep me upright. Neither of us fell, and I swung around to see what I had stepped on.

Right where my foot had trod a thick red western diamond backed rattlesnake was slithering slowly away from us. It hadn’t so much as tried to rattle and warn us. It had also not bitten me. I don’t know whether it had tried or not. I was wearing heavy jeans and thick leather shoes, so it might have tried but failed to penetrate to the skin. Furthermore, red western diamond backs are known to be reticent to bite unless directly attacked. But I do feel that I was under the direct protection of the Lord. In the words of Christ in the next verse:

"Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven." Thank You, Heavenly Father!

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[i]  http://www.desertusa.com/reptiles/red-diamond-rattlesnake.html

The Desert Shall Blossom as a Rose

Song of Solomon 2:12

New King James Version (NKJV)

¹² The flowers appear on the earth;
The time of singing has come,
And the voice of the turtledove.

It was twelve years ago, in 2005, that we last had a season like this one. The desolate desert meadows of Anza Borrego were blanketed in the royal purple of the sand verbena punctuated by the lush desert primroses. Hundreds of people walked delicately through the blossoms. Lovers hugged each other in the irresistible romance the flowers leant to their courtship.

In recent years, the entire desert longed for relief from a fierce sun, desiccating winds, and a drought that seemed never ending. Then the winter of the year of our Lord 2017 finally came with lavish, soaking rains. They washed the mountain crags clean. At long last the former lakebed caught the rain and allowed it to sink deeply into the ground again and again over a number of weeks.

On a recent Saturday Sylvia and I drove down to Anza Borrego State Park again just to see with our own eyes the fruit of rains that had brought so much green to our desolate, desert hills. As before we found hundreds of people, starry eyed lovers, excited children, and rejuvenated old folks all wandering, entranced, amongst the desert gold flowers. This time the golden blanket was punctuated by the purple sand verbena and the white desert primrose.

Besides the flowers, we were blessed to see several types of birds.  Not only did we see doves (mourning doves) but great raptors and tiny hummingbirds as well. The hummingbirds benefit the most from a plenitude of flowers. In addition, great, fat, striped caterpillars sat in the shade of the withered leaves gorging themselves on the rich feast, unknowingly heading toward their transformation into creatures with beautiful wings and delicate antennae.

The hand of the Creator stretched out and reminded us that, in the midst of the desert of death and sin in this old world, God is still personally interested in us, in our joy and happiness. He is still interested in instantaneously changing us into beautiful, imperishable immortality.

Thank You, Lord, for these beautiful reminders of the bright future You have already prepared for us!