Walking up the stairs to our home the kids stopped and were fascinated by a snake lying in the grass sunning himself. He wasn’t very big and we were looking at the markings trying to work out what sort of snake he was. When the snake started to slither towards an open window then it wasn’t so much fun. The window had been open for a while, something had happened to the catch and it needed fixed so we couldn’t just run in and shut it. When the snake managed to manoeuvre into the window then we knew we were in trouble!
On the inside the family scattered in different directions trying to find an object to contain the snake. We hoped it would go back out of the same window by itself. Instead it found a small hole, just large enough for it to fit through and went right into the wall cavity! It seemed that all we could do was wait, and wait. Finally it made a reappearance and like Elvis he left the building. Roy and Ryan quickly fixed the window problem. It is firmly shut and locked.
The experience made me think how many times in our lives we leave “windows” open for the enemy to come in and cause havoc in our homes. One of our weaknesses recently has been a lack of time. It seems that we are always too busy and certainly too busy to complete maintenance tasks. When that “window” is left open the enemy comes in and causes strife and conflict in our marriage. Slowing down and resting isn’t sinful, it is needful.
1 Peter 5:8-9
Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up. You’re not the only ones plunged into these hard times. It’s the same with Christians all over the world. So keep a firm grip on the faith.
