Philippians 4:6. “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” Be careful means to not worry about anything. Supplication means be earnest and humble when you reach out to God. I cannot emphasize enough that you have a reverent awe of your Creator, His power, His holiness, and His majesty.

The Apostle Paul forbad Christians from worry, because the Lord was right there with them. We are to pray, to trust the Holy Spirit, and to NEVER forget to thank Him for answered prayer.

I took God at His Word many years ago. I cover those that I care about in prayer. If I thought my husband’s job as a police officer was stressful, our daughter turning sixteen is ineffable. She started driving alone and car dating at the same time. God has tested my faith in many ways through the years. Some of those tests were a hard NO.

When my grandson started driving, I understood my daughter’s fears. I told her that God was in the car with her precious son. I had learned many years ago to trust Him to watch over her, because I couldn’t. My girl turns heads. So does her son. Instead of worrying about what that entails, I pray for their protection.

Today, I can witness that Philippians 4:7 is truth. “The peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” When worry touches my spirit, I don’t waste time. I take it to God. I refuse to let problems steal that joy, but some days they throw everything at me. Like Peter on the water, I cry out, “Lord, help me!”

My daughter has called me numerous times through the years, and told of bad experiences that were prevented. The day she sent this picture was one of them. She asked me if it was a rattlesnake. She knew the answer to her question, and she was terrified. She was home alone. The snake wasn’t dead, it was injured badly, and it was regaining consciousness.

She was panicking and she kept telling me not to hang up. I realized she was holding onto my voice in the same way that I was holding onto the Lord. The hoe didn’t do the job, so she had to get a shovel out of the shed. My girl has never killed a snake in her life. She rescues things. I think that’s why God killed it.

That day, “something” kept nagging her to mow the back yard. We were talking on the phone and she mentioned it several times. Irritated, she finally ended the call and went outside with her small Min Pin shadow. The dog chased a mouse in the grass, and my daughter put her in “time out,” which probably saved her life. She only weighs ten pounds, but she is fearless. The snake was five feet long, and “very heavy.” There were ten buttons on the tail. I believe it could have swallowed her.

The shed which housed the mower was about twelve feet from the snake in the tall grass. That day she felt compelled to mow a different pattern instead of her usual one. About ten minutes into mowing, she felt the sensation of needles on her forearms, her cheeks, and her scalp. Chills raced through her before she “ran over a stick.” The motor immediately stopped, and that’s when she saw the snake.

She believes that God was warning her, but at first, she cried out and asked Him if she was having a heart attack. She was stunned to see the snake. The events of the day raced through her mind and she immediately thanked Him. She was filled with awe and wonder that God had protected her and her much-loved dog.

When my grandson came home the next day, the mower and the dead snake were just as she had left them. She wanted to hold the mower up while he removed the snake, but he rejected that plan when he saw the large rattlesnake. She earned some new respect from her 6’ 3” seventeen-year-old that day. Admiration was on his face as he watched her disentangle the snake, but especially when she cut the button off the tail and put it in a jar for him. I was proud of my girl.

Gratitude is important to God. I am so grateful for all the times that He has answered my prayers. We’ve had our share of tribulations in this family, but the Lord has been faithful. I don’t know how many times He protected us that we’re not aware of, but I do know that prayer makes a difference.

Dear Readers, I share this with you, because I want you to know that God is real. He wants to be a part of your life, and a relationship with the Creator of life is the only way to live.