Today’s Post By: Rae Lynn DeAngelis
Out of the corner of his eye, my husband, Gerry, noticed something scurrying across the kitchen floor. Further investigation revealed that something was a mouse. Eek!!
Believe it or not, in our entire twenty-nine years of marriage, this was the first time a mouse sought refuge in our home. We had plenty of other critters over the years: ants, spiders, crickets, even a chipmunk once, but never a mouse.
The tiny ball of fur seemed harmless enough, so rather than destroy the little guy, we decided to implement a more humane plan—catch and release. After an hour long chase, we finally caught the little guy and set him free in the wooded lot across the street from our house. (A decision we would later regret.)
A few weeks later, Gerry noticed mouse droppings in his office. Upon closer examination it was evident that we had a mouse problem. Apparently, the mice moved into our home after the excavation in the lot next to our house had disturbed their natural habitat.
It became necessary to purge our home of these unwelcome visitors. Mice carry disease, chew through electrical wires, and raid pantries, not to mention the fact that they reproduce rather quickly and two mice could become an infestation in relatively a short amount of time.
“Do not ignore the clamor of your adversaries, the uproar of your enemies, which rises continually.” (Psalm 74:23)
Gerry returned home from the hardware store equipped and ready. He purchased enough traps and poison to snare an army of rodents. Operation elimination was underway, and one by one, our unwelcome guests were eliminated.
Looking back, I realize that we could have saved ourselves from a whole lot of trouble if we had simply taken appropriate action when we noticed that first mouse.
Sadly, I find myself failing to finish jobs right the first time more often than I care to admit. Unfortunately, like our little rodent problem, shortcuts become long drawn out processes because we need to fix that which we had failed to carry out thoroughly the first time.
“Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in forced labor.” (Proverbs 12:24)
Negligence, laziness, and even ignorance are precursors to future hardships when we don’t take proper action to tackle the problems of everyday life at the onset.
Our little mouse problem became a good reminder: Procrastination and carelessness are unwelcome guests in our home because they create bigger problems down the line.
“Do what is right and good in the Lord’s sight, so that it may go well with you and you may go in and take over the good land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors…” (Deuteronomy 6:18)
