Daily Devotional for October 18

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October 18                                                Matthew 10:24-33

The creature's twisted body lay sprawled among the marigolds.
Brown stripes ran down its sides. Its battered head pointed
toward the sidewalk. I stood frozen, terrified, but unable to
look away.

That was weeks ago. And yet the very thought of the dead
snake still makes me cringe .

On the day I first noticed it, I had been on my way to the bank
in the small town where I work. As usual, I had turned to look
at the bright yellow flowers at the corner of Main and Central
Streets. There it lay - a garden snake, about two feet long,
very obviously dead.

The fact that it was dead didn't make a whole lot of difference
to me. When it comes to snakes, no amount of reasoning can
calm me.

At first the mere idea of going to the bank made me shudder .
I knew the dead snake lay in my path. But I'm an adult, and
a busy one at that, so a few days after my initial discovery
I vowed that no dead snake would slow me from my errand.

The next morning, I got close enough to glimpse the decay-
ing corpse before I lost my nerve and darted into oncoming
traffic. From then on, I walked blocks out of my way to avoid
the horror in the flower bed.

Most of the fears that affect our lives seem a lot less silly than
a dead snake. And some concern is good. We aren't being
foolish when we give up cigarettes or check for body lumps
out of concern about cancer .

Fear becomes bad, though, when it controls us, blinds us, and
leads us from the path God has called us to take. With our
Heavenly Parent at our side, we can walk the straight route,
knowing that the snakes that await can do no harm.

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From The Road to Emmaus - An inclusive devotional Edited by Joseph W. Houle

Emmaus House of Prayer - Washington D.C.1989