Our escapade called, “Living in Florida for Nine Months,” is much like a diamond, not so much because it was sparkly and beautiful, but because the experience was many faceted. Sometimes I think about the incredible beauty of where our home was situated, overlooking the wide mouth of the Caloosahatchee River and in the distance, Sanibel Island. Other times, I can only remember the exasperation of driving around down there with the Snow Birds snarling the traffic beyond description. Once in a while, I’ll spend a little time thinking about my dislikes…droves of mosquitoes (all with knives and forks and wearing bibs), the no-seeums, the public schools, the wet blankets and sheets if you tried sleeping without the air conditioning, and the cost of orange juice! Our Florida friends make up another facet of our tropical happening. The huge home we rented while there is another whole story. Each of these subjects, along with others not listed, combine to tell a tale not easy to forget; but, the one that follows requires some extra telling!
As I said, we lived in a house smack dab on the river. Nearly the entire back of the house was glass patio doors…great big ones! Sunrises were awesome. Sometimes, a huge moon made its appearance, casting a long shimmering pathway right to our back yard. During the day, we would often see dolphins and pelicans dive for their food just a few yards from our sea wall. At night, we could hear the sea cows having a blast doing something out there. Off in the distance, huge yachts made their way out into the Gulf. The kids had fun swimming out there, although they had a few unpleasant experiences with the barnacles on the sea wall!
Many mornings, after sending the kids off to the school bus, I would grab my coffee and walk to our little stone table close up to the water to read my Bible. On one of these mornings, I sat looking out across the water, watching two logs float quietly along. It was not unusual to see branches and huge palm leaves meandering along. My mind, I’m sure, was on a dozen things, but I really wasn’t giving those logs a lot of thought…that is until I looked up and saw that the logs had eyes! Logs they were not!
There, not 100 feet away from me, were two alligators! They must have been doing a very tiny dog paddle underneath the water because they had easily passed for logs. My eyes grew big as the consequence of such a sight nearly knocked me over. We had all…but especially the kids…been swimming in that very water! We had come to think of that water as Gulf water, but in reality, it is brackish, and alligators like it just fine!
Does Satan come after us flaunting his “horns and pitchfork?” No, he comes disguised as a log…well, the Bible says he disguises himself as an angel of light. Imagine that! Even more subtle than just working behind the scenes, he sets out to steal, kill and destroy by approaching us as not only “an angel,” but “an angel of light.”
Beware! Examine things closely before you jump in for a swim! Be smart and as the Bible says, “Be sober.” He disguises himself “as” an angel of light and he walks about “as” a roaring lion…and in both cases, he seeks whom he may destroy. Those “logs with eyes” were an extreme danger to our kids. Be careful of our enemy who deliberately offers his wares in a custom made angel costume! He’s no angel! He’s a log with eyes!
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