4085
Pt. 1
About a year ago, we began to experience the presence of mice (plural) in our home. I began to see the fuzzy gray little things near our dog's water and feeding bowls in the kitchen. I never saw more than one at a time, but the difference in their size and color overcame any illusion than only one of them existed.
You would have to know me. I simply hate killing anything. If I see a roach, there is a fair chance I will grab it with a tissue and put it outside; (rather than pick up a shoe and murder it on the spot).
Ultimately, however, I knew I had to do something. I mean we move and live and breathe in this house, and there is absolutely no room for ra.., I mean mice here.
As a result, I bought some sticky paper designed to trap and immobilize the little devils. And since I had seen them in a tall floor to ceiling cabinet where we keep our canned and dry goods, I put a couple of strips of the stuff on the top shelf.
And in short order, in just the next day or two, I found one of those squeaking, nasty little beasts firmly affixed to the sticky paper. I admit I attempted to remove him with the intention of turning him loose in the back yard. Well, my friends, by now he was one with the paper, and there was no possibility of removing him. I will spare you the details, but at this point I was forced to dispatch the little critter. This occurred twice.
It is convenient to think that there was never more than three of the furry beasts in my house. At least, at that point I was under the impression that only one remained in our home.
Strange, it was as if that one had learned from the mistakes of the previous two mice; because try as I will, I could not trap the third one. He avoided the sticky paper, and he similarly avoided the rat traps which I had strategically placed in and about the kitchen.
And I can tell you, dear readers, I began to experience a begrudging admiration for the little critter. He was obviously not your average house mouse. And I, (much to my chagrin) began to go easy on the tiny fella.
For you see, it seemed such a travesty to me to kill such an obviously intelligent little guy, and so I began to set a live trap, which someone had previously given me, in front of the stove; (a location from which I had seen him coming and going).
All to no avail.
"Tiny Tom" was just too smart to fall for it. And he never did.
Pt. 2
As a counselor I speak about "tipping points," (or crises or catalysts) which many of us seem to need to bring us back to reality. In this case, my tipping point came when my wife awoke one day to find the top of her zippered cloth purse torn to shreds. She had left a couple of peppermints in the purse, and it was apparent that "Tiny Tom" was ready for a nice dessert.
This, my friend, was "the final straw that broke the camel's back."
There was only one thing left to do. Our daughter had previously offered to give us her "Maine Coon" house cat. At this point in our journey, (and though I have never liked cats), we took her up on her offer. Milo became a member of our family.
And without any question, the large yellow feline was immediately aware of the presence of the mouse. Milo began to surveil the kitchen, and sit for minutes in front of the stove; especially at night when the lights were out. And to his credit, but more so to the credit of the furry gray critter, the latter has only made his presence known once that I am aware of.
I was standing in the kitchen a few weeks ago when suddenly the (somewhat larger than I remember) little beast ran past my feet, and into the recesses of the space behind the stove. As much as I had grudgingly began to respect the nasty rodent for his innate intelligence, and even feel a bit of empathy for him, by this time I would have gladly stomped him; had I been prepared for his appearance.
Afterward
As a pastoral counselor, mentor and writer, I tend to spiritualize everything. Well, not everything, but lots of things. I look for the lessons which life has to teach us. And I think the foregoing story definitely qualifies.
I think as Christians, it is too easy to tolerate not only what we might classify as "minor sin," but to invest our time and energy on things which are unprofitable to our spiritual growth, or merely preoccupy us, and keep us from fulfilling the plans our Lord dreamed for us before He made the worlds.
And whereas there's nothing all that good about that mouse of which I have alluded, I found myself marveling at his intelligence, and even empathizing with his plight in life. I was too close to just "settling." While all the while, the fuzzy little critter was making a general nuisance of himself, and potentially spreading a multitude of germs to man and beast, alike.
And I think there is a correlation between the story I have told, above, and the foolish, and even worthless things which tempt and preoccupy us, and even the way we squander away our precious time; which in the end we have so little of.
I think all believers would do well to reflect on these things, and make a few mid-course corrections, as the Holy Spirit leads us.
In the meantime, I never have caught that nasty little rodent, but he has definitely developed a talent for remaining out of sight.
by Bill McDonald, PhD
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