Love makes Matthew strong

Every day Matthew and Rose walked through the forest to go to school. On Sundays they walked the same way to church. Their school and the church they went to were in a village five kilometers away, through the Kamiti forest in Kenya.

Matthew was 10, and he made the journey so much fun that his young sister never noticed how long it was. He taught Rose how to catch butterflies. They would look for newly blossomed flowers or guess the age of an old tree. Sometimes they sang songs they had learned in Sunday School. Other times, Matthew would tell Rose Bible stories and act them out. Rose adored her brother and could hardly wait to walk through the woods with him.

One Sunday morning Rose and Matthew woke up at 5 o'clock, as usual. Quickly they bathed and put on their favorite clothes. Their parents walked with them through the forest to church.

On the way Dad and Mom talked to them about how God created the world and how He loved and took care of them all the time. Matthew knew that this was a day of thanksgiving to the Lord, and he was looking forward to learning new Bible stories.

Sunday School started before the main church service. So their parents kissed them goodbye and watched them enter the church. That day, they learned about a man in the Bible called Samson. They learned how brave and strong Samson was and how he saved the Israelites from their enemies.

After Sunday School was over, Matthew took Rose by the hand and started heading home, while their parents stayed in church a little longer.

It was high noon, and in the Kamiti forest this is when the sun is hottest. But the heat did not bother Matthew and Rose, because the tall trees of the forest gave them shade. Matthew began acting out the story of Samson. He climbed short trees and jumped off for a surprise attack on the enemies. Then Matthew pretended to be King of the Israelites. He walked majestically along the forest path, explaining vividly to Rose what the King's palace looked like. Rose giggled as he held her hand and pretended she was his queen.

At that moment Rose noticed a beautiful butterfly in a nearby bush and asked Matthew, “Dear king, would you be so kind as to catch for me that beautiful butterfly?”

“Certainly, my queen,” he answered.

Rose held her breath while Matthew crept towards the flower on which the butterfly rested. Rose was so busy watching her brother that she did not notice a big python snake creeping closer and closer behind her.

Just before Matthew stretched out his hand to catch the butterfly, he turned his head to see whether his queen was watching. And he saw the snake ready to attack her. Without a second thought, he jumped to his feet and ran like the wind toward them. He pushed his sister behind him and confronted the snake. With his bare hands, he grabbed the python's head and shouted to Rose to run for help.

Rose ran.

The snake was very strong. It tossed Matthew back and forth. He struggled to keep his feet on the ground. The snake was whipping and winding its lower body on a nearby bush. Matthew held firmly onto its head until Rose was safely out of sight. Then he let go of the snake. He rolled free and ran after his sister.

Soon the people from the village came running. They caught the snake. Matthew told everyone that the whole time he was fighting the snake he had felt the love and peace of God in him. He knew that God was with him, like He was with Samson. And like He was with so many other people Matthew had learned about in the Bible. God was protecting him. This is what gave Matthew the strength to hang on.

Matthew thanked the Lord for saving him and his sister.