It’s Time to Get Off the Fence!
I’ve had some pretty weird “snake” experiences this week. We live in a neighborhood in northwest Florida that used to be a tree farm. We not only have tons of trees and marshes around us, but also because of this environment, we have lots of critters. Many of them the slithery kind.
The back of my house faces our pool and around the pool is an iron fence. I glanced out the other day to notice a little lizard scampering along the top of the fence. I turned away then looked back and thought I saw it playing in the sago palm, which sits in the corner of the fence. But when I looked a little closer, I realized this wasn’t the lizard. It was a snake! And it was not only crawling around the palm, but eventually made its way upon the fence and was slithering along the top of it!
All I could think was, “Oh my gosh! What if I were laying in the lawn chair right there sunbathing and looked up to see the underbelly of that snake? I would have a heart attack!”
Thankfully, I wasn’t sunning out by the pool and could see that the snake wasn’t poisonous, so I decided to walk out there and get a closer look.
As I made my way up to the snake, I just stood there. The little guy held his head high as if to say hello. He stared right at me and then turned away and slithered back down the palm.
Because I believe that all creatures are God’s creatures and that even slithery snakes come into our lives to give us guidance, I knew there was a message here.
When you look at the spiritual symbolism of the snake, it means death and dying of the ego. Or another way of looking at it can be described as a rebirthing.
I’ve definitely been going through a rebirthing this summer. I’ve set most of my work down and have been doing a lot of introspection to release how I “think” I’m supposed to be in the world with my work, and instead, asking God to guide me.
Asking God for guidance has been my focus for a long time. However, since I made a decision to follow God’s messages over the last couple of years to step out into the world with my work in a bigger way, I’ve found myself struggling with controlling how I think things should happen rather than allowing my work to unfold.
My deepest desire is to trust God and the universe to show me where to show up each day, knowing that everything I need will be provided. This is what my heart wants and what I feel is my calling. I know that to do this, however, I have to create a connection to God every day. I have to commit fully.
Commit is the key word here. And why I believe that snake showed up, sitting on top of the fence. It was mirroring to me what I am doing in my life. I’m in a state of rebirth, but am being wishy-washy, sitting on a fence. I knew immediately when I saw the snake up there, which I have never ever seen before, that the universe was saying, “Hey, Terri, are you going to pay attention? Are you going to fully commit to putting God first?”
I know being in a state of surrender is truly a task for us humans. Being human is about the ego and the need to survive. However, I believe our ultimate goal as humans is to connect to God on a deep, deep level, surrendering our egos.
Our egos tell us what we “must do” or how we “must be” to stay ahead and win at life. The ego literally plays head games with us. And when it comes to survival, most of us never get out of this painful cycle. But I’m making this my mission. My heart is calling me to let go, to surrender fully. But it means I have to quit sitting on the fence and create a connection to God daily, no matter how busy I am! For me, the simplest way to commit is to meditate each morning and have a conversation with God, continually releasing the negative beliefs that tell me I must control how my life is going!
Interestingly, the next morning after seeing the snake, I spent quite a bit of time in deep meditation. It felt so good. To feel that connection creates such a loving tone to one’s day. I was so on fire about taking this stand for myself. And then, wouldn’t you know it, the following morning I got caught up in other things to do and climbed right back on that fence!
But the universe has a funny way of showing us ourselves. Later in the day, I was sitting in my living room, which faces the pool, when my stepdaughter Haylee came to sit with me on the couch. She was struggling with some emotional stuff. I heard myself say, “Haylee, you have to make a commitment to creating a connection to God every day so when you’re struggling like this, you can still get answers.” HA! Wouldn’t you know it? I glanced past Haylee and looked out the window only to see that darn snake sitting on top of the fence again!
I just started giggling to myself. “Yep,” I thought, “God is really working on me this week. I guess this message is going to be driven into my brain until I get it! Not only is a snake sending me a message, but now Haylee is reflecting back to me what I’m doing to myself!”
So…with all of that said, I know what I am being asked to do. I am being called to fully commit to letting go of what my head says, putting God first above everything else. It’s time to get off of that fence!
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Thoughts for Your Journey
1. Are you sitting on a fence in some area of your life?
2. Are you allowing your head to guide you out of a need to survive?
3. What are you ready to choose for yourself?
We want to hear from you! Please share your responses below.
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Are you ready to deepen your connection to God? Are you ready to surrender into a magical adventure, opening up God’s guidance, love and miracles in a way you’ve never known before? If you are, I invite you to check out my book, The Enlightened Mom, and its 25 companion meditations. It’s time to get off of that fence and create a connection, fully committing to put God first! Click here to check it out!