Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Catholic
Try Not To Imagine A Snake

Try Not To Imagine A Snake

Last updated on: August 26, 2016 at 7:13 pm by Mary Pezzulo

Try Not To Imagine A Snake 2016-08-26T19:13:49-04:00 Mary Pezzulo

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

One year, the wall of one of the cabins was teeming with ribbon snakes; this was discovered when one stuck his head out of a crack in the plaster right over my Aunt Pat’s shoulder. Ribbon snakes have a comically bemused expression, when they poke their heads out of the wall, but the sight of one didn’t make my family laugh. They tried to keep the snakes away by putting duct tape over the crack. When the duct tape started to wiggle they realized they’d just trapped a snake on it. Aunt Pat can’t stand to kill any kind of animal, so she let the snake free outside, but he couldn’t get clear of the duct tape adhesive and he died.

One year, my cousins and I were fishing for crayfish in Dixie cups in a still pool at the bottom of a ravine. I’d filled all my cups with the little crustaceans, so I started to climb out of the ravine to ask my mother for more. I put my hands up on a fragile shale ledge, then pulled myself up suddenly, and came face to face with an adult queen snake. Adult queen snakes do not have a comically bemused expression; they have the classic calm, sociopathic expression one associates with a reptile. She flicked her tongue at me. I screamed, and went tearing down the side of the ravine in a jangle of broken shale.

Once, when driving from one part of the park to the other, we saw an enormous bright yellow rattlesnake coiled right in the middle of the road. I don’t know what was wrong with it, to make it that color; rattlesnakes in West Virginia are usually soft cream with brown blotches. But this one was bright, and it had a rattle, and it was poised with its head reared up, making nonchalant eye contact with anyone who looked at him. I wanted to open the door to get a closer look, but my parents wouldn’t let me.

These are the other snakes I try not to think about, when I try not to imagine a snake uncoiling at the base of my spine. I’m grateful that there’s never actually been a snake uncoiling at the base of my spine, because I wouldn’t know what to do. Should I ignore it, to avoid demonic possession? Should I scream and throw myself down a noisy shale ravine? Try to get a closer look? Strike its head with my heel and find my leg doesn’t bend that far? Get the duct tape?

Here’s something to imagine, to get your mind off of snakes at the base of your spine: imagine a world free from fear.

Imagine a place where you knew that no one was going to get you, not the devil and not anyone else. Imagine a world where you know you’re safe, not because all the snakes have been killed but because the snakes don’t harm you here. Imagine that a bat flies right at you, but you don’t cringe from the bat; you only admire its soft fur and smooth wings. Imagine that a katydid zips into your cabin and makes that blood-curdling noise in the middle of the night, but instead of startling, it fascinates. Imagine coming face to face with a calm and regal snake, close enough that she could bite you on the nose, and marveling at the geometric beauty of her scales. Imagine opening your door to make eye contact with a bright yellow rattlesnake, because their color is so beautiful.

That’s where we’re headed.

That’s the country God intended.

That’s the place without fear.

Imagine that, as much as you like. It won’t be accurate; nothing we can say could ever do justice to the beauty that waits for us there. But it won’t hurt you. You don’t need to be afraid.

He has not given us a spirit of fear.

There’s no fear in that country.

Do not be afraid.

not given a spirit of fear

Previous Post

August 26, 2016

In Case Anyone Was Wondering If The Burkini-On-A-Beach-Ban Would Extend To Catholic Nuns...

Next Post

August 27, 2016 A Plethora of Picture Books

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category abortion Abuse Advent America American Christianity angel angels Annunciation Appalachia apparition apparition chaser apparition chasers apparition culture art art review babies baby baby Jesus Bad Lip Reading bad statue contest bath beauty Bible story blog blogkeeping blood book review Brandon Sanderson breastfeeding bus Catholic catholic conspiracy alarmism Catholic Oppositional Disorder Charismatic Renewal Charlie the Cat chastity Christ Christian idenitity Christianity and Judaism Chronic Illness clean clothing COD piece comedy compassion conscience conspiracy theory conversion cop-on-black violence Crucifixion cry of the poor culture Daesh Daily Saints death death penalty devotional diaconate diaper diapers dirty disability Donald Trump Dorothy Day dream drugs Eastern Catholicism Eastern Christianity education election election update Elsewhere on Patheos empathy environment Fear feminism film review fish flashback fluffy buns food Franciscan University of Steubenville Friendship Room fun Gabriel gardening gospel hair-splitting Heaven hell heresy Hillary Clinton history Holly the Witch Holy Spirit holy war Homeschooling homosexuality horror human dignity humor Icon idol immigrants infection inter-religious dialogue Interpretation of Scripture Islam Jesus Jihad Joseph joy laity and lay vocations lamb dinner laundry lent lgbtq literature love manners Mary Medicine and Science Meditation mercy mess milk misogyny Missouri monasticism monster motherhood mourn with those mourn movies movis music mystery nature neurodiversity New Pro-Life Movement news nonsense nostalgia O antiphons obituary objectification Ohio Valley Ordinary Time ordination Ordo Amoris parable paradox Passover peanut butter personal beliefs pets philosophy Planet Charismatic poetry politics polls poop Pope Francis Pope Leo power in the Church prayer prayer request prayers preferential option for non-violence president presidential election priest primary private revelation pro-life prophecy Public face of Catholicism Pure Flix Q and A race racism random rape rape. sexuality reader's request Reckoners refugee religious trauma ressurrection Right to life Saints saints and celebrations same-sex same-sex marriage satire scandal secular feasts seder Seven Joys Seven Last Words sex sexual ethics sexuality silencing six months skid row slavery social justice Speculative fiction spiritual abuse spoon stain story suffering suffrage suffragette Sunday Gospel temple Tenebrae Responsories Terror the exorcist The Friendship Room The New Pro-Life Movement Things I Learned on the Internet tin cup traffic true story tv review Uncategorized USCCB vice and temptation violence Virtue virtue and vice war Way of the Cross whimsy whole life women's ordination work of mercy Year A

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which Orthodox celebration marks the resurrection of Christ?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Pentecost Transfiguration Pascha Epiphany