The Story:
A young girl walking along a mountain path to her grandmother’s house heard a rustle at her feet. Looking down, she saw a snake, but before she could react, the snake spoke to her.
“I am about to die,” he said. “It’s too cold for me up here, and I am freezing. There is no food in these mountains, and I am starving. Please put me under your coat and take me with you.”
“No,” the girl replied. “I know your kind. You are a rattlesnake. And if I pick you up, you will bite me and your bite is poisonous.”
“No, no,” the snake said. “If you help me, you will be my best friend. I will treat you differently.”
The young girl sat down on a rock for a moment to rest and think things over. She looked at the beautiful markings on the snake and she had to admit he was the most beautiful snake she had ever seen.
Suddenly, she said, “I believe you. I will save you. All living things deserve to be treated with kindness.”
She then reached over, put the snake gently under her coat and continued toward her grandmother’s house.
Within a moment, she felt a sharp pain in her side. The snake had bitten her!
“How could you do this to me?” she cried. “You promised that you would not bite me, and I trusted you!”
“You knew what I was when you picked me up,” he hissed as he slithered away.
The Application:
What are the snakes in our lives? What offers sweet, slithering words of comfort and reassurance when we know what it is and what it will do? What relationships do we continue to invest in when we have already been bitten? What environments look extremely appealing and attractive but always seem to result in increased anxiety, pain, or sorrow? What habits do we continue to feed and nurture when all they do is poison our self confidence and peace?
We are human and much like this little girl our emotions tend to cloud our judgment and good sense. Part of breaking this painful, destructive pattern is by taking a step back and simply evaluating what this person, habit, or behavior is offering versus what it is taking.
Changing the way we live life can be very challenging. Recognition of reality is the first step. We all get bit more than we realize. Our personal snakes are very deceptive and have a way of painting a false sense of reality. Decide today to rid your life of one less snake that is hissing your name and threatening your progress.
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