My Recent, Unforgettable Experience

It is spring here in the Western Cape of South Africa, so all around us the flowers are blooming, and it's really invigorating to be out in nature. We enjoy the fresh air, beauty and tranquility, while at the same time we look for crystals.  Pierre does this on a weekly basis, and I sometimes join him.  I want to share a very recent experience I had, something which I'll never forget.  

But first, images of some of the flowers we came across in the mountains, in an area that has burnt down several months ago:

Flowers alongside the road, on our way to the farm.

               

Below, close-up of the above

Flowers on the farm

 

Beautiful purple flowers in front of a burnt shrub

     

Above: These small, green flowers look so shy, their little heads are always hanging down. 

Below:  To see its face, one needs to turn the flower's head upside down.

Small, pink flowers growing in abundance

A lovely, bright orange flower

A small cluster of flowers, partially sheltered by two rocks

Some of the few taller flowers

My unforgettable experience:

 

It was the 2^nd of October 2021, and I was out in the mountains with Pierre on the farm of a friend, looking for crystals.  After having sat on my cushion, scratching around looking for crystals in a small pocket I'd found, I got up to stretch my legs, and walked around for about 15 minutes.  When I got back, I sat down on the cushion again, had something to eat and then decided to continue.  I thought that perhaps I should open the pocket more in the direction of where I was sitting, because the best crystal I had found that morning was in the opening closest to me, so perhaps the pocket extended in that direction.

Instead of getting up again to move backwards, I simply stretched my left hand backwards, lifted myself off the cushion and simultaneously pulled the cushion backwards with my right hand, before sitting down on it again, my feet apart so I could look for crystals in the pocket right in front of me.  Looking to the front again, I saw a small snake lying in an s-shape, right between my thighs, about 10 cm from my body, and it started sailing towards me.  It was a mountain adder!  They're quite poisonous, and people bitten by them usually go through agony for about 3 weeks, and often end up on a ventilator for a while.  I really cannot remember how I got up and moved away ...!

While I was walking around, it was probably disturbed (unknowingly) by Pierre who was moving rocks, looking for more crystal pockets, about 10 meters from me.  It had probably taken refuge under my cushion, and I then sat down just behind / in front of it (because it was not injured) but the pressure of the foam cushion (with me on it) possibly immobilized it while I sat on it. 

 

I thank God for His mercy, because I could easily have been bitten after I'd moved the cushion.  Although it was only a small / young snake (about 1 cm in diameter and roughly 20 cm long), it was still poisonous.  So easily it could've gone into the outer casing of my cushion, ending up in either our vehicle or home!  Below is a picture Pierre took just as it slithered over the quartz rock, and the other one is an image we got from the internet, confirming what it was. 

I believe one day we'll be astonished to see how often God had protected us, even without us being aware of it sometimes!  God's grace is unfathomable!  

Above:  The venomous snake that was under my cushion ...

Below:  An image we got on internet, confirming it as a mountain adder

Although we found quite a few crystals that day (nothing spectacular), this is one outing I'll never forget!

Riana Joubert