Snake Skins

I have never been a big fan of snakes. I use to work at an amazing inner city sports camp. One night some girl counselors came to me and asked me to remove a snake out of their cabin area. At that point in my life I had never caught a snake and had never desired to experience it in my lifetime, but it was my job. I was the safety director at the camp and this was classified under unsafe.

I located the snake and had him cornered. I knew enough to know that I did not want to pick it up by the tail so I worked to get my foot on his head. I then proceeded to pick it up by the head. Once I had it in my hand I had no clue what to do. I’m not going to lie though I felt pretty manly at that point, but then fear set in. What do you do with a snake once you catch it? So I took it to my friend and he said, “do you know what kind of snake that is?” “Yea a big one.” He said, “it’s a cotton mouth.” I have learned since then that these are highly poisonous snakes.

As much as I dislike snakes I have realized I am a lot like a snake. When I allow God to do a work in me there are things that I need to shed. Snakes have to shed their skins as they grow. We are the same way. We need this same process as we are growing in the Lord; addictions, hurts, bitterness, envy, anger have to be shed. But not only the more obvious ones but; but you will find God wants to deal with all aspects of your life that can hold you back from growth. For me it has been things like eating habits, sleep habits, pacing myself in my vision, or lack of planning. We can view these as a pain in our side or we can see them as opportunities for growth.

What has to go so you can grow?