I don’t like mice. I mean, I REALLY DON’T LIKE MICE. As I type this I can hear them scratching. I was so frazzled yesterday when I figured out I had some in the kitchen, that I didn’t know what to do. I called some neighbors but couldn’t get ahold of anyone. So I called Britton who was just about to do a wedding. He told me what kind of traps to get. Placing them around just creeped me out.
Last fall two of my friends and I went to Branson. We stayed in a condo that was on the ground level. One night after dinner we opened the door to go in and something scampered in the condo. I immediately jumped on top of a chair and screamed. Julie stood there saying, “I’m not going to touch it” and proceeded to take pictures. So Sherry, by default, was the one to deal with whatever varmint it was. The animal got stuck behind the open door in the corner. We could see its bushy tail and decided it was a chipmunk. Sherry bravely took her coat and grabbed its tail and slide it along the base of the door and put it outside. Julie was then concerned that we hurt it or killed it. I just wanted it out and didn’t care if we killed it! Sherry was, O brother you two! (Sorry, the pictures are no longer available :()
Gerbils are just as bad. We had a few of those over the years when the kids were growing up. I was okay with them as long as they were in the cage. One of the times, Collin had a gerbil named Sheen (from Jimmy Neutron). Its cage was in the kitchen. Yeah, I know how gross it was to have it there. What were we thinking? You guessed it, one day Sheen was not in his cage. He had chewed his way through and was missing. Britton and Grant had just gone off to college and I was doing some of their laundry that they left behind. I went down in the basement to put away some of Grant’s clothes and looked inside the tall upright hamper to find what I thought was a headless gerbil. I called Neal at work and had him come home as soon as he could get away. (I thought it was a big enough emergency to merit that.) He went down to the bedroom and found that the missing gerbil had fallen into the hamper and couldn’t get out. He scratched and scratched to try to get out, leaving a trail of blood all around the inside of the hamper. It wasnt’ headless but was just curled up into a ball. I made him get rid of the gerbil and the hamper.
I don’t want to check if i have trapped any mice. Proverbs 5:22 tells us that an evil man is held captive by his own sins; they are ropes that catch and hold him. I am praying that my traps have caught and held the mice. I don’t want them doing any further damage. Sometimes sin so entangles us that we can’t be released. Jesus does tell us that we can be free. He said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you keep obeying my teachings. And you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” Jesus told them that everyone who sins is a slave of sin. He is the only one who can set us free (John 8:31). How do we know the truth? Jesus is that truth. How do we know him? By reading God’s Word, studying, pondering and obeing it, we will know the truth. Then we will be set free.
Freedom doesn’t mean doing whatever we feel like doing. Even a person who has been freed from the power and bondage of sin by Jesus’ blood can still be captive to sin. God created us with a free will. We won’t be totally free from sin until we see Jesus face to face. Does that mean we don’t even try to not sin? No, as followers of Jesus we are commanded to be holy in all we do. We obey God because we are his chiildren. Don’t step back into your old ways of doing evil. But now we must be holy in everything we do, just as God is holy. (I Peter 1:14-16)
I don’t believe mice deserve freedom. We don’t deserve our freedom in Christ either but he willingly and loving gives it to us. Sorry mice, you aren’t getting that from me! So I am praying for courage to check on these traps and dispose of the mice. Unless, anyone out there wants to come and do it for me???
On the journey,
Trish
Again, an great piece of writing. Freedom is granted but I Have my territory. So I did. It feel bad sending the large spider on its way to another place. Nor swatting the mosquito that found its way into the bedroom near my ear at 4 o’clock this morning.
How wonderful the freedom from our sins and His provision …new every morning.
Soooooo glad you do not have those Branson pictures anymore! Remember our mantra….”What happens in Branson stays in Branson!” As to the critters, they are with us for a reason. They are in the food chain for higher animals…..and they eat lesser animals and forage for nuts, etc. They are just confused right now as to where to forage!! Your home is very appetizing, apparently!