So I wish I had a picture of us with the snake however I do not so a picture taken off the internet will have to do. For those of you who do not know I have been for years very afraid of snakes. Any kind of snake, it didn't matter I would run screaming. This is in part to a few traumatic events as a young child that involved rattle snakes and garter snakes.
Anyways this fear came to the surface this past week when I over reacted to a rubber snake. Trust me the reaction was way over the top and not warranted for a toy rubber snake. So I spent some time talking to Jesus about it and left it at that. Not really sure what steps I would take if any to overcome my fear of snakes.
Well Tuesday I came face to face with my fear once again. My friend and I went for a walk with her little boy at Mill Lake in Abbotsford, and while we were walking a couple came walking in our direction. the young woman was carrying a lizard of some sort and the man had a 6 foot rug python wrapped around him. Marie stopped to talk with them and let her son touch the snake. I stood back and had to take lots of deep breaths to calm my anxiety levels. I was ready to pee my pants. However as I kept breathing I decided that I had been presented with an opportunity to take one small step to overcome my fear. So with a few more deep breaths I asked to touch the snake. It was a very quick touch at first followed by lots of breathing, and then I decided to touch the snake and not take my hand off of it right away! Seriously this was a huge step for me. Still not ready to hold a snake anytime soon, however just being able to touch it was a miracle, and a huge growth opportunity for me.
Jeral and I leave tomorrow morning for our little get away. We are looking forward to spending Saturday evening with some friends of mine from back in the good old Bethany days! I am looking forward to going to the Calgary Zoo, and who knows maybe I will walk through the reptile area now. Ummm, maybe not!
Anyways this fear came to the surface this past week when I over reacted to a rubber snake. Trust me the reaction was way over the top and not warranted for a toy rubber snake. So I spent some time talking to Jesus about it and left it at that. Not really sure what steps I would take if any to overcome my fear of snakes.
Well Tuesday I came face to face with my fear once again. My friend and I went for a walk with her little boy at Mill Lake in Abbotsford, and while we were walking a couple came walking in our direction. the young woman was carrying a lizard of some sort and the man had a 6 foot rug python wrapped around him. Marie stopped to talk with them and let her son touch the snake. I stood back and had to take lots of deep breaths to calm my anxiety levels. I was ready to pee my pants. However as I kept breathing I decided that I had been presented with an opportunity to take one small step to overcome my fear. So with a few more deep breaths I asked to touch the snake. It was a very quick touch at first followed by lots of breathing, and then I decided to touch the snake and not take my hand off of it right away! Seriously this was a huge step for me. Still not ready to hold a snake anytime soon, however just being able to touch it was a miracle, and a huge growth opportunity for me.
Jeral and I leave tomorrow morning for our little get away. We are looking forward to spending Saturday evening with some friends of mine from back in the good old Bethany days! I am looking forward to going to the Calgary Zoo, and who knows maybe I will walk through the reptile area now. Ummm, maybe not!
2 comments:
Good for you Leanne! I didn't even remember that you were afraid of snakes...didn't your house at camp have snakes living under the porch? I seem to remember sprinting that last little bit into your house.
Ashlea
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