Last Thursday, my husband and I went hiking in the mountains. We're less than an hour from some of the most beautiful trails in SC. Granted, it was in the upper 90's and extremely humid. By the time we drove to Raven Cliff Falls, the temps were dropping "quickly"--at least into the lower 90's! Both of our boys were at camp, so just the two of us grabbed our backpack with water, snacks, and camera and began our hike.
We had not hiked a mile before the drama began. As usual, I was chatting away--still on the topic of She Speaks! The trail was marked with flowering wild hydrangeas. Y'all, they were gorgeous! I took pictures along the way--hoping for the "perfect" one. So, I was in my happy zone. Suddenly, my husband grabbed my elbow and shouted "move it!!" I was yelling at him, "What is it????? What's going on???" A 4 foot long black snake had meandered along the path beside him! The man does not like snakes!! Let me explain why. 
When he was in high school, he was on the tennis team. One day during a match, the tennis ball was hit into a bed of azaleas. My sweet husband walked over to get the ball so they could continue the match. He put his hand under the bush and quickly pulled it out. His finger had made contact with a copperhead snake! By the time he got home and his dad drove him to the nearest hospital, his finger was swollen and black--which quickly spread to his hand. He was a very sick young man! He was in the hospital for several days. He has a very healthy respect for snakes to this day....just stay as far away from them as possible!!! Of course, I had to go back and look at the snake! I took a picture of it....but it was slithering away--yuck--- and my camera was still in flower mode. I forgot to change the setting! So... the picture of the snake was quite blurry. Sorry about that.
We continued our hike without any further drama! It was peaceful and so quiet. All we could hear was our breathing and our footfalls. It was just beautiful. We chose the trail that led to the top of the waterfall. The falls were breathtaking! The coldness of the rushing water over the rocks was so refreshing! That reminded me of something Paul said in his short letter to Philemon. It's from verse 20. "...refresh my heart in Christ." Don't you just love that?? We can refresh our hearts everyday through prayer and spending time in His Word. That's such a short quote that we should have no trouble remembering it and hiding it in our hearts.
Refresh yourselves today!!!
Blessings!
7 comments:
I love that thought. Refresh, everyday!! The falls look beautiful. You'll have to come up here someday and let us take you around the "purty" parts of Virginia.
Love ya!
Well, at least your husband has a reason or excuse to not like snakes. What's my excuse? Wimpiness (is that even a word?). I am terrified of snakes. I really don't like to travel in the woods or parks for that reason. We have a local state park and I'm not a frequent visitor there except for at their pool. I lived near this park once and saw three of them there scary critters in my yard. Unbeknownst to me I was harboring a home for one 4' black snake by having a bail of hail in front of my water faucet. Needless to say, I had my landlord take away that hail. He EVEN took the snake. He wouldn't kill it so he put it in his truck to discard in his woods. Thank God I no longer live there. My greatest fear.
I need to refresh every day. Isn't it wonderful that we live in 24 hr days so that we can wake and refresh our bodies and souls each morning...joy comes in the morning.
Paula
I love "hiding it in our hearts"... very sweet.
Snakes are not my friends either... but you already know that :)
Glad that the two of you were able to have that time together.
Hey Susan,
Congrats on your blog! I can just picture you talking as I'm reading it. :-)
We love to hike as well and always treasure the amazing creatures, awesome scenery and time spent together. Your story reminds me of a hike my family took a few years ago in the Adirondacks. We were enjoying the view at the top of a mountain. My son was exploring the lean-to shelter while my husband and I were about fifty yards away. We heard him let out a truly bloodcurdling scream and he ran toward us like he was shot out of a cannon. What scared him? An upclose encounter with a rattlesnake!!
That was one hike we'll never forget. (Except the time we came across a bear ;-)
Keep writing!
Blessings,
Kelli
Reminds me of when we used to hike in the mountains in Colorado when I was a kid.
So glad your blog is working now!!! :)
Thanks for all your encouragement & prayers!
Love ya,
Lelia
Hi wonderful you!
I got to see some gorgeous creation on my trip to Sedona, but I can promise you that I hiked as little as possible. I still haven't started running yet...stay on me about it, please.
Your snake story reminds me of a story...My brother and sister, only two years apart in age, were romping around my Granny's cotton field-surrounded property on hot, summer day. As they strolled around, my sister noticed a snake. Being the quiet, laid-back girl she was, she calmly stepped over the snake and said mstter-of-factly, "Dean, there's a snake." Dean, who had major snake-phobia until the day he died, jumped a good three feet in the air and practically flew back to Granny's house to safety. So much for being the rough and tough big brother!
Thanks for the refreshing message! The pictures are gorgeous! Love and miss you!!
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