Wells And A Rattlesnake.......

The world had gotten to be a bit much, so I decide to break away, to look for a place of peace and rest.  As I walked the half-beaten path through the woods I was drawn to this rock.  Propped by smaller ones, it afforded a little bit of space through which I could pass, into the whole below it.  As I approached, my mind went to my childhood and what I learned of the rattlesnake's preference.  I, then, backed away and kept on down the path.  My walk continued and weather conditions worsened.  Shelter was nowhere to be found.  Again, I am drawn to that rock!  I get the courage to go closer, knowing that if I stayed out in the midst of this storm, I'd surely die.

I crawled in head first, slowly, laying eyes on everything I could possibly see.  Once in, I find no rattlesnakes or any other creepy beings.  What I initially thought to be a little hole turned out to be a rather large cave of 4 chambers.  I explored each one with my light and found familiar etchings and engravings in the walls; etchings and engravings done by my own hand.  Wow!  How long has it been since I'd been there??!

In the center of the chambers, there was well, surrounded by several buckets.  Each bucket was labeled differently. Among them, there were two labeled "peace" and "rest".  I dropped these buckets into the well, drew water and drank from them.  While my mind found its peace and my body, its rest.  I examined the other buckets and decided to drop and drink from a few more:  wisdom, patience, and compassion.  My eyes, then, wander back to the seemingly impassable passageway to my heart, and I see that the storm is over and the sun is reaching out for me.

As I shimmy out to live yet another day, I am stricken by that muscle-freezing sound of a rattler.  I slowly turn to see that a huge rattlesnake has been placed at the corridor to my heart, not to cause harm, but to protect the way to the prize of me.

Continuing down my path of life, I wondered why the entryway to my heart had gotten so much smaller.  Well, this is what I gathered from the experience of visiting my own heart.  Over time, we find ourselves in all sorts of circumstances.  In terms of relationships, we witness bad things happening to other folks and we decide that "I'll never......."  Then we experience heartache and pain and heartbreak first-hand.  Then we REALLY say, "I WILL NEVER.......!!"  Such happenings cause us to camouflage and shrink the corridors to the treasures of us.  We protect ourselve by placing that rattlesnake before us, continuing to make it clear that, "I WILL NEVER.......!!"

The only danger I'd say we must be careful of is losing our true identity in the walls we've built to protect us.  The best way to prevent this is to visit the chambers of our hearts, reviewing our etchings, and remembering who we were created to be.  Draw from those wells of "Living Water" within your own hearts!!  For the Well is the Heart of God.

"Those with ears to hear, let them hear......."

HAPPY SUNDAY Y'ALL!!  I LOVE YOU ALL, EACH AND EVERY ONE!!! 

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