"The Jointed Snake"

When I was a child my grandfather told me many wild stories. He was a good storyteller. He could make many people believe his stories, especially me. He was married to my grandmother who was a wonderful Christian woman, and I thought granddad had to be pretty truthful to be married to grandmother. Sometimes I think she believed a lot of the stories he told her also. Then I wonder if granddad didn't also believe his own stories. Can imagination become truth to some? Well I think it really did to my grandfather, because if he were alive today, I am sure he could tell the same stories he told me as a child and it would still be the exact story. I never once in my life heard him say he was joking. I have always had a horror of snakes, and I believe it was because granddad told me they never died, even if you chopped them in a dozen pieces. He said a snake was jointed and could always wiggle around and find their right joints and fasten back together. I once watched him chop a big snake into several pieces when I was very young. I didn't know then, but I know now that my granddad threw the pieces to the snake away when I wasn't watching. Then he called my attention to the place where we left the dead creature, only to find nothing there. I asked my dad if it could really happen. He just laughed as though it was funny. I thought it must be the truth. I finally got old enough to know better than to believe everything granddad told me, but I never did know just how much to believe. I could write a book on stories that granddad told me for the truth. I got to where I could tell them almost as good as he did, because I could see the hair standing straight up on peoples heads when I repeated granddad's stories. Some would even say, " you know that could be true." "Yes," I would answer, " I wonder if it is."

It took me years to seperate the, jointed snake stories, from some of the stories I read in the bible. Finally I came to a conclusion about it all. My granddad was a man of flesh and blood. A man who liked to have fun. My God, when he wrote the Inspired Word was not having fun. Every word in the bible is truth reguardless of what some may say otherwise. It may sound impossible to us, but I can never doubt one word of the holy bible. I hope if there is anyone who might not believe that our God is Lord and Savior of all, that they will test Him and see if He does not answer them personally. Laying all jokes aside, He will always answer you. You may get the living daylights scared out of you, but you will never doubt again.  

God bless
M. Jean Sharp