House guests

We had our first house guests this weekend. My college friend Sue and her husband James came to visit us and meet the boys. It was so nice to see a familiar face. We went for a walk along the river, we went to a winery where they sampled some wines, and we had a great dinner prepared by Andrew. It was a very nice visit for our first house guests.

Unfortunately, James and Sue were not our only house guests that day. We had an unwelcome, uninvited guest too. We had a snake in the house! I did not realize how much I did not like snakes until I had one in my house 5 feet away from where the boys, Sue, and I were playing on the floor. Luckily, it was caught in some packing tape and it was not going anywhere. James was our hero and took the snake outside. I called Andrew and told him I was glad Sue and James were there or I would be in the van on my way to IN right now. When Andrew came home he took the snake to a neighbor and the first said he thought it was a rattler. (Andrew later told me he thought so too.) They took it to another neighbor and he said no it is a baby bull snake. It is a good snake that eats mice and small rattler snakes. He said the head is a different shape and of course it has no rattle otherwise, they look the same. They let it go in a nearby field. For Sue's rendition of the story, check out her blog.

I can barely look at that picture. Like I said I had no idea how much I hated snakes. I had every intention of writing this blog and just ranting about the snake being in my house. I have to admit I have been very disturbed by this event. I have lost sleep and not left the babies alone on the floor or anywhere but in their crib since this happened. Even when they were in their crib I would pray for the Lord to watch them and protect them from the snakes. I have opened every box since then praying that there would be no snakes. Since we had no idea how it got in here I have been on alert. Was it here when they were building? Did it come in when the movers had the doors open? Was it from the warehouse? Did it come in with a plant we left outside over night? Well, this morning in the shower God changed my heart about this situation. Like I said I have been scared to death since this happened and wondered how I am going to get over this. Well, God taught me a little lesson. Through reading some of Paul's letters to Timothy this morning I realized how inhospitable I can be. I literally wanted the snake to die. I wanted it out of my house and never to come back. How many times am I like that with people? Not that I have ever wanted them to die, but just not let them in. I literally have not had people over before because it is too much work or my house is not just right. That is not what we are called to do. I have also not let people into my life or held them at arm's width because I did not want them 'in my house'. How many times have I tried to enter God's house and he not let me in? I have been tangled up in some sticky mess I have gotten myself into (like the snake) and he is always there with open arms. Now I am not saying I am going to invite a snake literally into my house but I realize I need to let some people in. Into my house and into my life. I need to use the gifts and things God has given me to let people in. Both literally into my heart and into my house. God has given us this wonderful home and great boys and I have a husband who is a wonderful cook. I need to be more open to let people in. It doesn't matter if it is clean or decorated perfectly yet, I need to be hospitable. The Bible study we are doing and the theme at our new church is about becoming more Christ like. I know Christ would let 'snakes' into his house. He let me in. I need to be more open to people and not wonder where they are coming from, I just need to let Christ shine through. Does this make sense? I feel like I am rambling and I have not had time to process yet but I feel the Lord has put this on my heart. Like I said I was going to rant about how I was going to IN to get away from the snake (Andrew looked up the snake and they are in northern IN too) but I can't get away from what God was teaching my through this situation. Well, the boys are awaking up from a nap, so I better get them out of bed. Thanks for reading and I hope it was clear as mud (as my dad says).