Templeton - that's what he named him. Most people don't name a rodent who shows up in the house, but we've only had 2 in 36 years. Consequently, my son names ours. Our first was Harry, a tiny gray mouse, who ran under the dishwasher and promptly died. And our second was Templeton, who from my son's description appeared to be monstrous.
Early Christmas Eve morning, my son burst into my bedroom with the news that this "ratzilla" had moved in to totally disrupt our holiday plans. What in the world can be done to rid the house of this interloper in the middle of Christmas festivities? I know you may think this strange, but my first reaction was to pray. Prayer, for me, is the first step before I start to take physical actions. As I asked God for help, I became totally peaceful. Templeton may have slipped inside, but I had no need to fear. The God I serve cares for the details of my life right down to a rodent in the house.
Now prayer was not my only action. As soon as the local stores opened, my son was purchasing several traps and I was financing the shopping spree. We had to back up our faith with works. Loading traps with peanut butter and strategically placing them in the house became our actions to back up the faith that God could rid our house of this creature. Waiting was the hard part. We had prayed and put our faith to work with appropriate actions, but just like most situations this one was not immediately resolved.
We constantly rechecked the traps; however, we had made no catch and at bedtime Templeton was still skulking in the shadows waiting for his chance to roam freely again. What could we do but go to bed and hope that one of our devices would make the catch. Ratzilla was free in our house, and we had to wait in hope that the situation would be resolved.
How many times have I had this same dilemma? Something was awry in my life. I had prayed. I had taken the only actions I knew to take. And I had waited. . . and waited. I kept looking to see if the answer had come, yet God was working a plan that I could not see. His timing was perfect and His ways were not my ways. His ways are so much better.
God proved this in our lives with the capture of Templeton. As much as we wanted to find him in a trap, neither of us really wanted to remove a dead carcass from the house. Much to our surprise, God gave us a way for our house to be rodent-free without having to empty a trap. Simply, Templeton decided to scale the trash can in my son's room and fall in, and he couldn't get out. Quickly, the bag was removed and he was carried outside.
What are the odds of a rat crawling into a trash can and trapping himself? I tend to think that this happening is highly improbable. . . BUT God. I had prayed first, and God knew my need. A rat should not be in my house. I just needed to wait for His work to be accomplished. In His time, which was a couple days after the first sighting, Templeton trapped himself. And I choose to believe God directed his steps to the rim of a trash can and caused him to lose his balance. You many think I am insane; however, I believe a God who knows the number of hairs on my head is concerned about the details of my life and can be trusted to orchestrate situations for my ultimate good. And I also believe He cares about the details of your life too.
Has a "ratzilla" invaded your life? Are you stressed as you try to devise a way to rid your life of its threat? Give the situation to God in prayer. He may work in a way you never expected, but I promise on the authority of His Word (Romans 8:28) that God is working all things for your
Early Christmas Eve morning, my son burst into my bedroom with the news that this "ratzilla" had moved in to totally disrupt our holiday plans. What in the world can be done to rid the house of this interloper in the middle of Christmas festivities? I know you may think this strange, but my first reaction was to pray. Prayer, for me, is the first step before I start to take physical actions. As I asked God for help, I became totally peaceful. Templeton may have slipped inside, but I had no need to fear. The God I serve cares for the details of my life right down to a rodent in the house.
Now prayer was not my only action. As soon as the local stores opened, my son was purchasing several traps and I was financing the shopping spree. We had to back up our faith with works. Loading traps with peanut butter and strategically placing them in the house became our actions to back up the faith that God could rid our house of this creature. Waiting was the hard part. We had prayed and put our faith to work with appropriate actions, but just like most situations this one was not immediately resolved.
We constantly rechecked the traps; however, we had made no catch and at bedtime Templeton was still skulking in the shadows waiting for his chance to roam freely again. What could we do but go to bed and hope that one of our devices would make the catch. Ratzilla was free in our house, and we had to wait in hope that the situation would be resolved.
How many times have I had this same dilemma? Something was awry in my life. I had prayed. I had taken the only actions I knew to take. And I had waited. . . and waited. I kept looking to see if the answer had come, yet God was working a plan that I could not see. His timing was perfect and His ways were not my ways. His ways are so much better.
God proved this in our lives with the capture of Templeton. As much as we wanted to find him in a trap, neither of us really wanted to remove a dead carcass from the house. Much to our surprise, God gave us a way for our house to be rodent-free without having to empty a trap. Simply, Templeton decided to scale the trash can in my son's room and fall in, and he couldn't get out. Quickly, the bag was removed and he was carried outside.
What are the odds of a rat crawling into a trash can and trapping himself? I tend to think that this happening is highly improbable. . . BUT God. I had prayed first, and God knew my need. A rat should not be in my house. I just needed to wait for His work to be accomplished. In His time, which was a couple days after the first sighting, Templeton trapped himself. And I choose to believe God directed his steps to the rim of a trash can and caused him to lose his balance. You many think I am insane; however, I believe a God who knows the number of hairs on my head is concerned about the details of my life and can be trusted to orchestrate situations for my ultimate good. And I also believe He cares about the details of your life too.
Has a "ratzilla" invaded your life? Are you stressed as you try to devise a way to rid your life of its threat? Give the situation to God in prayer. He may work in a way you never expected, but I promise on the authority of His Word (Romans 8:28) that God is working all things for your
