In the story of “Princess Grace and the Little Lost Kitten”, we see her faith tested in ways that resonate deeply with us as mothers. Opening “my box “ to share from my own journey of faith, reminded me of the life-lesson from Grace’s story.
As a former tribal missionary, I faced many challenging seasons in my life. As a mother of two young princesses, balancing “off the grid” survival skills, home-schooling, linguistics, language learning (Kuna), evangelism, running the small medical clinic, delivering babies, washing clothes in the river and cooking food I had never seen before, etc….I found myself overwhelmed!
Oh, and then…there is the matter of the creeping, crawling reptiles…
I have never been a fan of reptiles…
Panama is the home to some of the most frightening snakes on the planet. Our corner of the dense Darien jungle was full of boa constrictors, pit vipers, fer-de-lance (this snake bears 60 live babies at a time!), etc. We were cautious not to poke under rocks or fallen branches, always scanning for any slithering menaces. Behind our house there was a massive tree that extended its immense roots out into the river shoreline where the girls and I bathed and swam. The thick mangrove swamp harbored snakes that would lie in the hollow places of the trunk of that tree.
More than once I cried out Psalm 16:1
“Keep me safe, Oh Lord, for in you I take refuge.”
Fear is no stranger to me. I am habitually challenged to walk through the door of fear. I was told during missionary training that courage was not the absence of fear, but the conquest of it.
“The highway of fear is the shortest route to defeat”. William L. Brownell
My husband had built a screened-in back porch to the house. It became home for our gasoline-run wringer washing machine. The Indians thought the machine was the most ridiculous apparatus they had ever seen! It was noisy, the water had to be carried from the river (or in rainy season, we could utilize the convenience of the roof rain barrels). The agitator was a mystery (why would you jerk clothes around in dirty cold water when the river is running and clear!) however; the wringer was another story…it worked really well. Hand wrung clothes could not match that wringer! I had to agree with them on all counts!
While I washed, Kim would play on a blanket or crawl around the porch. The floor was slightly elevated, lined with wooden planks roughly cut and loosely fit together. It was not quite finished and as I leaned over the machine, I saw Kim crawling toward something moving under the floorboard. I turned off the deafening machine, snatched Kim up into my arms and “yelled” for Ralph! Writhing back and forth, only a few inches away, was a 5’ venomous snake! He had quite possibly been a houseguest for “who knows how long” before we noticed him! Let me repeat…
I am not a fan and I intensely dislike reptiles!
Arturo, our nearest neighbor had heard me scream and came running, He quickly surveyed our predicament, raised his machete and removed the head of that reptile with one swift blow. He held it up like a prized Marlin…its length was above his head and its tail draped to the muddy ground!
This story could have had a much different ending, were it not for our Sovereign God, His plan and the life-lessons He was busy teaching me! School is always in session if we have eyes to see it. The need to grow and mature will never end on this side of eternity. Fear has been my friend and biggest challenge. I am to fear the consequence of sin, not snakes. Easy concept until put to the test!
“Be strong and of a good courage, Fear not, nor be afraid of them (in this case…snakes);
for the Lord your God, He it is that does go with me, He will not fail me nor forsake me.”
Deuteronomy 31: 16
“I sought the Lord and He heard me and delivered me from all my fears.”
Psalm 34:4
What do you do with your fear?
This week take note of areas in your life where you feel overwhelmed.
Like Princess Grace, walk through your fear and rest in God’s sovereignty.
~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America. Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California. My passion is mentoring and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights.
