Did you ever notice that when God confused men's language, in the days of the Tower of Babel, that He left us a smile (and most facial expressions), which means the same in all languages (as far as I know)? A baby's smile is one of the most delightful things in all the earth. A mother delights in her baby's first smile. Who can resist smiling at a baby in church---or anywhere else, for that matter?
Similarly, in the animal kingdom, I have noticed that a hiss means the same thing across all species (as far as I know). I remember walking out my back door one dark night and hearing a loud hiss, only to see that I had surprised an opossum. Cats hiss, snakes hiss. Not all animals hiss--I don't recall ever hearing a dog hiss--but I'm pretty sure that all animals understand what a hiss means.
Last night, on my way to bed, one of our 4-month-old kittens was behind the piano. It seeemed that she was stuck there, so I pulled out the card table we store back there, thinking perhaps that would free her, and called her, but she opted to go out the other end and come to me around the front. I noted that they had knocked down a string or hair ribbon or something. I reached for the card table to put it back, but the ribbon was moving toward me. It was dark, I was on my way to bed, and there was a snake behind my piano.
When I thought about it later, I realized that snake had been in my house all day! Joe Kitty, our 4-year-old indoor cat, had been batting at balloons earlier in the day--at least I thought it was balloons. And on the off chance that she had been playing with a mouse, I picked up some debris that had fallen on the floor near where she was, but seeing no mouse concluded she was playing with shrinking, leftover birthday balloons. Before bed, the cats were making a ruckus behind the couch, and I just assumed they were playing...but now I recognize that the snake had moved along the wall, under the couch (eeek) and then gone along--or behind--the bookshelves along that wall and then behind the piano. Now, you have to realize that it is one foot from the end of the piano to my bedroom door, which has more than ample room for a snake to crawl under. I had no choice but to catch it, if I wanted to be able to sleep....with the light off. (I once found a large snake skin on a shelf six feet off the floor in my shed. I know snakes can climb!)
When it saw me, it stopped. But it was between a rock and a hard place, me on one end, and cats everywhere else, because at this point there were four felines helping me herd this snake. Gary grabbed an old piece of trim, which worked much better than the little dowel I had grabbed for holding the snake in place while I tried to grab it; but I had only been able to find a left-handed glove in my haste and this snake was striking viciously, even biting himself and the board that was pinning him to the floor. I'm sure his life flashed before his eyes, but i did not feel dexterous enough with my left hand to grab him close enough behind the head to not get bitten (not that he could have bitten through my glove, as my husband pointed out, but hey, HE was not picking up this snake, or even offering to!). Finally, I grabbed him by the tail end to transport him outside, and he was striking at my arm the whole way.
What a contrast to the snake our cat brought in the other day, who just played 'possum. We were able to pet him and hold him and transport him to safety without fear.
I am reminded of that scripture, Isaiah 11:8. "The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand in the viper's nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea."
If that snake last night had known that I would not hurt him, would not eat him, would not kill him, he would have gladly let me pick him up to take him outside instead of striking at the hand that was trying to save him. There will come a day when "the lion will eat straw like the ox" (Isaiah 11:7), when there will no longer be enmity between serpent and man, when fear will be no more, because the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord, and His perfect love casts out all fear. I wonder if in that day the animals will talk, as they do in Narnia, as apparently they did in Eden.
I look forward to that day. Lord, bring it on!!
Similarly, in the animal kingdom, I have noticed that a hiss means the same thing across all species (as far as I know). I remember walking out my back door one dark night and hearing a loud hiss, only to see that I had surprised an opossum. Cats hiss, snakes hiss. Not all animals hiss--I don't recall ever hearing a dog hiss--but I'm pretty sure that all animals understand what a hiss means.
Last night, on my way to bed, one of our 4-month-old kittens was behind the piano. It seeemed that she was stuck there, so I pulled out the card table we store back there, thinking perhaps that would free her, and called her, but she opted to go out the other end and come to me around the front. I noted that they had knocked down a string or hair ribbon or something. I reached for the card table to put it back, but the ribbon was moving toward me. It was dark, I was on my way to bed, and there was a snake behind my piano.
When I thought about it later, I realized that snake had been in my house all day! Joe Kitty, our 4-year-old indoor cat, had been batting at balloons earlier in the day--at least I thought it was balloons. And on the off chance that she had been playing with a mouse, I picked up some debris that had fallen on the floor near where she was, but seeing no mouse concluded she was playing with shrinking, leftover birthday balloons. Before bed, the cats were making a ruckus behind the couch, and I just assumed they were playing...but now I recognize that the snake had moved along the wall, under the couch (eeek) and then gone along--or behind--the bookshelves along that wall and then behind the piano. Now, you have to realize that it is one foot from the end of the piano to my bedroom door, which has more than ample room for a snake to crawl under. I had no choice but to catch it, if I wanted to be able to sleep....with the light off. (I once found a large snake skin on a shelf six feet off the floor in my shed. I know snakes can climb!)
When it saw me, it stopped. But it was between a rock and a hard place, me on one end, and cats everywhere else, because at this point there were four felines helping me herd this snake. Gary grabbed an old piece of trim, which worked much better than the little dowel I had grabbed for holding the snake in place while I tried to grab it; but I had only been able to find a left-handed glove in my haste and this snake was striking viciously, even biting himself and the board that was pinning him to the floor. I'm sure his life flashed before his eyes, but i did not feel dexterous enough with my left hand to grab him close enough behind the head to not get bitten (not that he could have bitten through my glove, as my husband pointed out, but hey, HE was not picking up this snake, or even offering to!). Finally, I grabbed him by the tail end to transport him outside, and he was striking at my arm the whole way.
What a contrast to the snake our cat brought in the other day, who just played 'possum. We were able to pet him and hold him and transport him to safety without fear.
I am reminded of that scripture, Isaiah 11:8. "The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand in the viper's nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea."
If that snake last night had known that I would not hurt him, would not eat him, would not kill him, he would have gladly let me pick him up to take him outside instead of striking at the hand that was trying to save him. There will come a day when "the lion will eat straw like the ox" (Isaiah 11:7), when there will no longer be enmity between serpent and man, when fear will be no more, because the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord, and His perfect love casts out all fear. I wonder if in that day the animals will talk, as they do in Narnia, as apparently they did in Eden.
I look forward to that day. Lord, bring it on!!
1 comment:
My husband pointed out that laughter is also universal.
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