God's protection

we came home from church last night and as always, i put caden in his chair for some dinner. i buckled him in and put the tray on his chair and something caught my eye right next to me on the table. i screamed when i realized it was a snake and pulled caden, chair and all, about 5 feet back. the snake slid into the plant on the center of the table. daryl ran and got a shovel from the garage. cole came running downstairs and i told him to get bill, the next door neighbor. bill and daryl took the plant outside, shook the snake out and smashed the head with the shovel (you can see the white smashed head at the far right of the photo).

after a night of bad dreams, i have had time to reflect on the situation. i think it had been in our house for a while because we had found some strange animal poop in our closet 8 days prior. i think of how caden could have so easily found it and surely it would have bit him because he would not have known to run. it could have bit him or me that night, we were inches from it. the kids scower the house looking for missing shoes or library books. they move the plant all the time so we can eat dinner or so they can color. it became more and more clear the more scenarios i thought of that God protected us. even to the detail that kristen wasn't there that night but had gone home from church with maegan to spend the night.

God's protection in my life so often goes un-noticed. i will never know how many times He has protected me and our family. in fact, when i look at the "Protector" tab in my journal, it is virtually empty. i take His protection for granted and don't think to thank Him enough. but i am thanking Him now :)

"I will protect you because you acknowledge my name." Psalm 91:14

"When you lie down, you will not be afraid, when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. Have no fear of sudden disaster for the Lord will be your confidence." Proverbs 3:26

"The Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He is with you. He will not leave you; do not fear or be dismayed." Deut 31:8