Spared
Bob Wickizer
Amos 5:6-7
This is not really a healing story, but a story of being spared. Labor Day I was floating the Barren Fork Creek in a kayak with a friend. Fishing for smallmouth is part of the routine. At one point I snagged my fishing lure and it wrapped around the middle part of my rod. I pulled over into some shady quiet water to untangle it and while I was sitting there in the kayak focused on the tangle, I became aware that the bottom of the rod in my right hand was suddenly heavier. Something told me not to make any sudden motions so I just shifted my gaze from the left hand to my right hand. There it was. Six inches from my hand was the head of a very large cottonmouth snake. It had coiled around the cork end of the fishing rod and another turn around the reel. I could see the cotton in its open mouth and the fangs were folding outward for a strike. With a split second remaining, I pushed the rod violently forward with my right hand stopping it so the snake would fly off. I will never forget the image of the snake striking at air about two inches from my hand as it flew back into the water. I cannot repeat the words I said as it started to swim away. What's said on the river stays on the river. But in the weeks since then, I have had a distinct feeling that I was spared.
Being spared is an interesting spiritual place to be. I visited this place once twenty years ago after ear surgery that spared my life. You realize how precious life and time is. You want to do things that matter and not worry about small stuff. You love more and whatever anger dwells in you departs for a while. You want the people you love to make good decisions too. You realize just how close God is to every person and every part of creation. You also understand that even what appears to be bad news can be good news indeed.
So the rich young man kneels down before the good rabbi and asks Jesus what he should do to inherit eternal life. The kneeling here is a clue ...
Bob Wickizer
Amos 5:6-7
This is not really a healing story, but a story of being spared. Labor Day I was floating the Barren Fork Creek in a kayak with a friend. Fishing for smallmouth is part of the routine. At one point I snagged my fishing lure and it wrapped around the middle part of my rod. I pulled over into some shady quiet water to untangle it and while I was sitting there in the kayak focused on the tangle, I became aware that the bottom of the rod in my right hand was suddenly heavier. Something told me not to make any sudden motions so I just shifted my gaze from the left hand to my right hand. There it was. Six inches from my hand was the head of a very large cottonmouth snake. It had coiled around the cork end of the fishing rod and another turn around the reel. I could see the cotton in its open mouth and the fangs were folding outward for a strike. With a split second remaining, I pushed the rod violently forward with my right hand stopping it so the snake would fly off. I will never forget the image of the snake striking at air about two inches from my hand as it flew back into the water. I cannot repeat the words I said as it started to swim away. What's said on the river stays on the river. But in the weeks since then, I have had a distinct feeling that I was spared.
Being spared is an interesting spiritual place to be. I visited this place once twenty years ago after ear surgery that spared my life. You realize how precious life and time is. You want to do things that matter and not worry about small stuff. You love more and whatever anger dwells in you departs for a while. You want the people you love to make good decisions too. You realize just how close God is to every person and every part of creation. You also understand that even what appears to be bad news can be good news indeed.
So the rich young man kneels down before the good rabbi and asks Jesus what he should do to inherit eternal life. The kneeling here is a clue ...
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