March 10 - ”Snail on the Hood”

The other night when we went out to Kel's for supper, we noticed something that surprised us, then intrigued us.  We first noticed it after we had cleared the causeway and were well into Texas.  There was no fanfare, no sudden thump and it arrived.  We just noticed it.   Chris was driving and all was quiet when she remarked with a chuckle, "Oh.  Look at that."  Now since I was not in the driver's seat, I must confess that I was not at all paying attention to our outer surroundings.  Again, it's not that I was particularly startled, but I did look up immediately to see what she meant.  I didn't want to miss anything that brought joy to my bride's demeanor.  But I just didn't see it.  I scanned the countryside for signs of a four-legged cow.   That's a family joke from one of our vacations with our boys years ago.  Once we were driving through who-knows-where when we began to see signs about a five legged cow on display.  Feeling adventuresome, I pulled off the road when we got to the exit.  Here was a teachable moment, a true educational opportunity.  How often does one see such a creature?  The family stayed in the car as I went in to get some more details.  And I returned to the car forthwith.  They were quite proud of that unusual cow.  It was to cost $15 per person to catch a glimpse.  Way out o four budget).  Now, since I had been the one to encourage excitement about the phenomenon, I had to figure out a way to break it to the boys that we wouldn't be seeing him today.  On my dejected path back to the car, I had an idea.  I started up the engine and said, "The cows are just up the road."  We drove for several miles, hoping the boys would forget about the alien creature, but no.  Their interest had been piqued by the earlier musings of their dear old dad.  Finally I saw my opportunity.  Up ahead was a herd of cows grazing in a field.  "Look.  Up ahead.  There amidst all those other cows.  See him?"  The boys jumped to attention.  They craned their necks to get the best view possible.  "Which one is it?  Move, let me see."  As Chris looked at me quizzically, I replied, with all the excitement I could muster, "See?  There it is.  A real live four legged cow."  It took a good five or six seconds before the realization began to dawn.  "Wait a minute, Dad.  All cows have four legs."  Oh, I tried to convince them with numerous, perfectly logical arguments like, "This particular cow though was supposed to have five legs, but at the very last second before birth everything changed miraculously."  But to no avail.  I was finally shut down by a final dig, "This is just like one of your short cuts, isn't it, Dad?"  Short cuts, indeed.  But that's another story.   Back to the original tale.  And then, there it was.  Slowly making its way across our hood.  Understand that we were traveling 65 miles per hour.  And there on our hood was a small snail.  And he wasn't just hanging on for dear life.  He kept on crawling.  I didn't know his travel plans, but he was intent on getting there eventually.    And then the rain started.  He went inside (every smart creature knows when to come in out of the rain).  But he couldn't go all the way in or he wouldn't have been able to hold on.  Every so often his antennae would emerge to check out the most recent weather patterns.  Finally the rain let up.  He moved on.  What was his destination?  LaMarque, I guess.  He was there when we arrived but gone when we left after supper.   Great lesson there.  No matter what the adversity, even if it be storms or 65 mile per hour winds while we are gripping desperately to the hood of a car, hang in there.  God has promised his family that we won't be called upon to face anything that he won't give us the power to handle.    1 Corinthians 10:13 says, "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."   Father, thanks for the example of that snail.  Help me be like him.  Amen.