Rodent Wars Revisited

In December 2011 I filed a report from the front lines of my war with the rodents around here.  There has been some progress since then.  In February of this year we had a major breakthrough against the squirrels (as reported below).  Last month, we conquered the chipmunks (report coming tomorrow).  

I noticed him, dangling by his paw from the feeder box outside my living room window.

Because of his penchant for raiding my bird feeders and making a general nuisance of himself, I hated this stupid bothersome squirrel.  I had unsuccessfully tried several means to thwart his devious schemes for thievery and had come to the point of threatening to shoot him until I was reminded of the local ordinances against discharging a firearm within the city limits.  Then I happened upon what was advertised as a squirrel “lunch box”.  Mounted to a post, with a hinged lid for access, it can be filled with peanuts and sunflower seeds and other squirrel gourmet delights and was guaranteed to keep the squirrel away from the bird feeders.  I was so excited with my new “weapon” that I installed the post and mounted the box on a cold winter night after 9:00 pm.

It was a grand success!  The squirrel quickly learned the trick of lifting the lid and helping himself whenever he wished.  Everyone in our house, including our cat, enjoyed watching his antics and he lost interest in the bird feeders altogether.  I loved this cute and intelligent squirrel.  And now, having somehow caught his toe in the corner of the metal box, he was helplessly dangling by his foot  with a look of sheer terror in his eyes.

Instinctively, I knew I had to rescue him.  I also knew it could prove hazardous to me.   Wrapping my hands and arms in a jacket I gently lifted his body until I was able to extract his bleeding toe from the corner.  As soon as it was free, he gave me a fright by scampering up my arm to my shoulder.  From that perch he jumped down to the fence and ran off bawling for all he was worth!  If I used my imagination a bit, I could almost hear him saying, “Thank you!”

In the wake of that experience I thought of how prone we are to being caught dangling by our bloodied feet from any one of life’s cruel experiences, with a look of sheer terror, or grief, or frustration in our eyes.  I can recall being rescued on many occasions by the benevolent hand of our Great God and no doubt you can as well.

But even more significantly, my thoughts were drawn to the fact that because Jesus loves me, He wrapped himself in human flesh and at great hazard to himself … He gave his life … came to rescue me from the snare of sin and the certainty of eternal death.  That rescue has been made available only on the condition of simple faith in Him, and nothing else.

Whenever I am reminded of that great truth and, indeed, whenever I am rescued from the snares of life’s experiences, I hope I will always remember to express my thanks to Him before scampering off to see what other sort of predicament I can get into.