I killed my first snake today.  I will not divulge his size, but I killed a snake today.  For all you tough women out there who would smirk at this feat, I get that.  But, I killed a snake today.   It felt so good.  I felt so empowered.

Chris is the one who found it.  I was planting flowers and he was a few feet away cleaning out a flower bed.  He brought it to my attention by simply saying, “Guess what I found.”  I guessed pretty quickly.  Those chills ran up my spine. 

He just sat there looking at it.  So, I took my shovel and I chopped him in half.  He kept squiggling around, so I chopped him again and again and again.  It was like off one of those horror movies.  I would like to make the sound effect, “EEK, EEK, EEK.” 

I finished it off.  Chris just looked at me like I had lost my mind and said, “Why did you do that?” 

Really?  I just killed a snake for him and our family and he asks that?  Where is the praise, the adoration, the look of pride?  He continues with some non-sense about there being good snakes out there that will kill rodents and bugs.  Whatever.  There is no good snake out there, and nothing you say will convince me otherwise.  They are stupid, slimy and terrifying.

Here is the thing.  I have been on a journey with Christ.  It has been a crazy, fun, scary, exhilarating, meaningful, priceless ride.  There are so many things He has been teaching me and  waiting patiently for me to learn.  One of my favorite verses lately has been, “Blessed are those whose strength is in You, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.”  (Psalm 84:5)

When difficult times come, I have to trust.  I told some of my friends (and I’ll tell you), “Sometimes, I just have to say, “Jesus.”  It is the only thing that works.  The only thing that brings peace.  The only thing that soothes.  I say it when I am facing something difficult. I say it when I have a scary thought.  I say it when I want to yell at my kids.  I say it when I see a snake.  I say it when I’m trying to take that next step in our journey.

I am slowly becoming a better wife, mother and person. Christ is helping me to do that.  My heart is set on a pilgrimage with Him.  I trust Him to take me where I need to be, so I can be a woman who will honor Him and trust Him.  It is not always enjoyable.  Frankly, sometimes I hate it. But, in the end, it is worth it.

Today when my husband shared his discovery, my first thought was to scream and to run far far away. 

But, then a second thought came to mind, “No, I will not be afraid.  I am bigger than that snake, and I have a shovel in my hand.  I have everything at my disposal to chop that sucker in half.  I might have the chills running up my spine, and it might totally creep me out, but I’m going to attack.

So, I did.  I did something I never would have done maybe even a month ago.

That is what we can do.  We can do that brave thing for us that will take us the next step.  We have everything at our disposal that we need.  It might not be pleasant or easy. The next step doesn’t have to be a huge thing.  It can just be that tiny thing that will get us a little closer to who we have been called to be.  It can be a phone call, exchanging a bad thought with a good one, a trip you are supposed to take, a ministry you have been called to start.  I think you know what your thing is.  I challenge you to set your heart on a pilgrimage that will echo through eternity. 

(Yes, I did get that line from Russell Crowe in Gladiator.)