All Creatures Great & Small: Part 2

It was Saturday - and Brittany and I had a busy morning and afternoon. We'd just finished Vacation Bible School that day and I came home to crash. After a short nap, I groggily stumbled to the guest bath in the hallway.  

As I approached the doorway to the bathroom, I saw a dark object on the floor by the back door that leads out to the lanai. I stopped and looked very hard at this "dark object" and then rubbed my eyes in utter disbelief.  

What to my wondering eyes did appear was... Yep - "Jake the Snake" had somehow made his way INTO our house.  

I was petrified, horrified, stupefied, terrified - you name it, I was even "fit to be tied"!! However, even though I was scared, I KNEW I had to keep my eyes on THAT snake. 

Here's the rub.... my dear, sweet husband could NOT help me at that moment in time. He was out of the country with our daughter Brandy. 

I couldn't even call him on WhatsApp. He was on an airplane traveling back to the USA. I sat down in a chair in my husband's office and tried not to hyperventilate. My hands were trembling because I was so mad that a snake had made its way into our house - our place of refuge from the outside world, our home. "Oh God please help me," I prayed out loud.  

I almost laughed at myself because this whole scene was from a very bad "B" movie.  

"Think Simoné, think" I chastised myself.  

Finally, I remembered Brittany was with our friends, the Hampton's, at the movies. Let me call James and see if he could help me.  

While trying to call James, I sent out an SOS to several girlfriends asking them to pray that I didn't faint while waiting for help to come.  

James answered the phone after several rings and I just started to shriek hysterically. It took a minute to even explain what was happening because I was crying and shrieking at the same time.  

James fought through my hysteria and said he was on his way and then I got another call from "Q".  

Quentin Robinson is the husband of my friend and sister in Christ, Kandice Jacobs Robinson.  

His first words were "are you okay?" I don't remember what I said, but I know it was horribly unintelligible. He said "do you want me to come" and I whined back "PLEASE."  

My thought at that moment was -"whoever can get here the fastest will be in my debt for eternity."  

I was feeling like Oleta Adams - "Get Here if you Can!!" 

Thankfully, less than 10 minutes later James, the kids and Brittany arrived from the movies. Brittany came through the front door not asking if I was okay but asking me "how big is the snake Marmie?"  

That just sent my blood pressure to the moon because in my mind, it doesn't matter how BIG the snake is - the issue is that it's IN my house less than 10 feet away from me!!  

I don't think I'll forgive Brittany for a loooong time for asking me that crazy question.  

James asks Brittany for a broom, shovel or hoe. Amazingly the snake hasn't moved from where I first clapped eyes on him. The snake was probably terrified by all my screeching. 

Alright - full disclosure "Jake the Snake" was about 12-14 inches long, so I guess it was a small snake - oy vey!!  

BUT just remember, it was IN our house!! James handily killed the snake and then disposed of the body over the fence in the backyard. He then kindly distributed "Snake Away" around the perimeter of the house.  

I remembered Quentin was on his way and called to tell him to turn back as the "dragon" had been slain and peace returned to the valley...  

NOT - this was not Eragon and I wasn't staying in that house without my husband. My friend and sister in Christ Michelle called and suggested we come stay with her & her husband Acie and we GLADLY accepted.  

Brittany and I packed our bags swiftly and we were out of there until my husband returned the next day to fully inspect the house and ensure we could return. What's the moral of this story? That God made various animals that somehow have come to live on our property and some have gotten inside our garage or home.  

They're still wondrous and awe inspiring creations of our Sovereign God, but I prefer to view them from my window, or at the Zoo or at the Aquarium if you get my drift.  

The other larger moral is that there are amazing brothers in Christ like James Hampton and Quentin Robinson who were ready, willing and able to come to my rescue and I will forever be grateful to them for their immediate response, for not asking me "how big is the snake" and for being willing to deal with a hysterical woman with patience and humility.  

Now they probably laughed their heads off after dealing with me... but I love them anyway!!

The Picture is so blurry, because I was shaking while taking it!