You know those days when the sun sets and you feel like dropping into a fave chair hoping to not get up until you are darn ready? Those days where everything seemed to be constantly thrown at you, or challenges were overwhelming, circumstances seemed to be falling apart, and even the small things seemed to be snowballing into chaos?
It was because you were wrestling with alligators. Yep, alligators. And, hello, alligators are 10-19 feet long and around 1,000 pounds. So, of course, you'll be tired physically and mentally beaten and maybe even emotionally spent from all that effort. You know, the effort to avoid being eaten.Alligators can be found in singles if they are large or groups if they are smaller in size. Not surprising, right? Life events that challenge you come along in clusters and one at a time. I prefer the one at a time kind, but then it always is a ginormous alligator, even if it is alone.
Alligators can move rapidly in short bursts on land. In the water, they are very strong and silent swimmers. So, no matter where you are, you aren't immune to the possible threat of an alligator, on land or by sea. Challenges of everyday life are real for everyone whether the challenge comes at work, at home, or simply at the grocery store. Everyone has alligators. (Yes, everyone. Even the lady with the perfect children and the perfect manicure and the perfect job and the perfect spouse. Yes, even her.)
Depending on the time of year, alligators can spend several hours underwater. Or they will lay quietly without moving, with only their eyes and nostrils above water. While they are staying still, they can look like logs. Hello, ever feel like the alligator is lying in wait? It is because often times you don't see the alligator coming. You don't see the next turn that life has for you. If you are like me, you have a PLAN of what will happen next. But, alligators don't care about Sheila's plan. Challenges come along willy nilly sometimes as a natural consequence to an action or sometimes as a "growth opportunity" provided by our Heavenly Father.
They are considered "ambush predators". They stay underwater, near the banks until they can reach their prey. Then they quickly lunge, grab their target and drag the prey underwater to drown it. Like, hello, again. You can't predict when an alligator is going to strike. You can do the best you can to send scouts ahead, to stay inside the house, to avoid looking like a tasty morsel, and it doesn't matter. You will experience the unexpected challenge. The question is, do you have skills to wrestle that alligator?
Skills? Skillz? Of course, you have skills. (I mean, you do have skills, right? Because I won't always be there to beat off the alligator with a rolled up newspaper or be able to have that handy hunk of an exterminator dude with the rad mullet over to catch the alligator for you.)
Here is a short list of the skills that can save your life when wrestling with alligators:
- Asking someone else for help and helping others. Hello, I'd rather take on my alligators with at least a couple of people with me. And, I know that you feel the same, too.
- Having a sense of humor. Okay, so the alligator got your hand. Hooks are up and coming and many a movie has been made with one.
- Praying and meditating.
- Eating and sleeping well. You are faster when in shape and fully rested.
- Keeping things in perspective. In the last 100 years of recordkeeping there have been only 30 confirmed deaths. Since 1948, there have only been 16 deaths. So, seriously, you most likely will not die from your alligator(s). Given that tidbit, things are looking up! But, hello, I am not the best with perspective looking. I have to force myself to determine the WORST case scenario and then talk it through with someone to determine that what I am going through is not the worst.
Thank you for indulging me.
Facts in Italics Taken From Suncoast Herpetological Society
