Devotionals

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I walked on my porch one morning before work to take in a quiet moment before starting my day. As I turned to walk in the house, I saw a snake wrapped in the top of a plant on my porch. Stunned beyond words, I said “Eww, how disgusting” and dashed in the house. So much for a wonderful morning. All I could think of all day was the abysmal creature in my porch plant.

Of course by the time I got home, it was gone. I thought about it all day and that snake probably slithered off the porch and went about it’s day in the woods without another thought to crazy humans or fake plants.

I took the incident as a lesson in humility. My husband has complained a few weeks earlier about spiders roaming too close to the house, and I never called the exterminator. I did it that day and apologized for my lackadaisical attitude toward his critter aversions.

How do you react to surprises? Do you say “Eww!” and let it ruin your day, or do you deal with it and move on?

Of course, there are all kinds of surprises and your reaction probably depends on whether it’s a good surprise or a bad one. A friend inviting you to lunch would not provoke the same reaction as a deadline moved up a week.

While you can’t help the knee jerk reaction to life’s surprises, you can always submit them in prayer. Give thanks for the good surprises, pray for strength and courage to deal with the nasty ones, and you’ll get through your day much easier.

Remember that God is always there, through the good, the bad – and the snakes in the plants.

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