God and Gators

Being the adventure-loving, spontaneous fella that I am, when my English class of seniors suggested we pick a totally random topic and write about it for 5 minutes, I was all in! Their chosen topic? Alligators. For a few moments, both the teacher and the group of soon-to-be-high-school-graduates were giggling like a group of freshmen as they jotted down their thoughts concerning the scaly reptilian subject! This is the written product from the former of those two groups…

Alligators are cool, creepy, and curious all at the same time. I mean, wouldn’t it be cool to be able to stay underwater for long periods of time and just pop up unexpectedly by some city-slicker in a kayak on a swamp bird-watching adventure? City people! At the same time, they just have a creepy aspect to them, because they just sit in your favorite fishing hole and stare at you! What do they think? That I enjoy having eyes on me while I’m trying to enjoy some peace and quiet? Jesus! I have a camera constantly recording and monitoring my classroom and a hundred sets of eyes watching my every move when I preach on Sundays, so can’t a guy at least escape the eyes of others when he’s at the lake? Obviously not – thanks Mr. Gator! And for the curious aspect…word of wisdom – when you hook a fish in gator infested waters, you’d better boat it in a hurry, because curious Mr. Crock-a-gator will come to investigate and steal your prize from the end of your line! Let’s face it – gators are a part of life here in Louisiana. So enjoy them…avoid them…and if necessary, eat them! I hear they taste like chicken! (City people!)

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that Gators and God have some things in common. Not the scales and scariness, but their abilities to be there even though you don’t realize they are there. Or how about the ability to show up when least expected? Maybe God can even be glimpsed among the gators as they stare a hole into your boat. Not that God wants to sink your boat or anything, but maybe it can be a reminder that God is always watching over us. David mentioned all of these aspects of God in Psalm 139 where he points out that God knows us…predicts our actions…understands our thoughts…etc.

God and gators – who would’ve thought?! Swamps, streams, or places in-between…maybe even with a gator in view…I’ll see you in the great outdoors!