This morning, in my effort to do more household chores that I've been putting off, I tugged on old clothes and trudged outside to do my least favorite chore. And I may have discovered a reason never to face this task again!

One of the flowerbeds in our backyard had an influx of weeds. Ugh. It really showed my inattention. And it was actually a nice lesson to my kids this week as we talked about relationships with family members and friends and especially our relationship with God and what happens when we neglect those relationships. Weeds build up.

A hydrangea plant had died. So I grabbed hold of the hard dry sticks and pulled. It didn't take too much effort for the plant to pull right out of the ground, roots and all. But as I was pulling, and staring intently into the plant, I saw a gaping mouth and a forked tongue. I jumped back. I'm sure I probably gave a bit of a yelp as well! My heart was hammering. Daring to look closer, I leaned back toward the flowerbed and saw the gaping mouth and the red forked tongue. Neither was moving. Then I recognized the 's' curved body. It was a plastic snake that once belonged to my son. It was enough of an excuse to put off that chore for another day.