Living with the Rats

So, if you are my friend on Facebook and have seen my status you know that I have a rat in my room. Most unexpected and most unwelcome. Here’s how the story unfolds:  I opened my closet Sunday morning and was deciding which dress to wear to church. My dresses are neatly folded and on top of a stack of other things. After rifling through them, I decide on one and pull it out. In retrospect, I realize it was not coming easily and I had to pull a little harder than normal and in a nanosecond, I realize why. A rat thudded to the floor at my feet. Or maybe it wasn’t a nanosecond – I think I was in shock, as was the rat. We both stood still for a moment and then my shock dissipated turning into hysterical screams as I ran and jumped on my bed and the little vermin scurried under it. I was still screaming as Mama Grace ran into my room. Poor Mama Grace. I think I almost gave her a heart attack. She’s standing there, hand over heart, thanking God that I’m alive. She thought I had electrocuted myself. I explained to her with heart still pounding a mile a minute that I saw a rat. A rat! A rat!! To think, my hands had been rifling through my dresses with the rat inside – SHUDDER!! And she is standing nonchalantly on the floor, where the rat could have easily crawled across her feet. (I know, I know, rats are just as scared of us as we are of them – I’ve heard it and it doesn’t make me feel any better). And that was my Sunday morning.

Lawrence does come in a moment later and looks for it, while I’m sitting on my bed. At which point he tells me: “rats are very smart and can crawl up anything, even your bed.” Yes, I jump off my bed and run directly into the sitting room, sit on the couch and pull my feet up! While we are at church, we put Molly (the cat) in my room, only to return and find her sleeping peacefully on my bed. Some guard cat she’s turned out to be! So, Charles and Chris go through EVERYTHING in my room and come up empty handed. But never fear, they assure me that there is no rat in my room and it’s safe. They looked everywhere after all. Skip ahead to bedtime, when Charles informs me “Auntie, keep your ears open.” I ponder and ask “Why?” “For the rat,” he says. “But I thought you said it wasn’t in there!” “Oh, I just wanted you to go back in your bedroom.” Ahhhh, thanks Charles! Needless to say, I take one of the boys in the room with me, grab my pillow, computer and mosquito net and hightail it out of there! I am sleeping in another room tonight.

Here’s the thing about rats … they are sneaky. They know when to hide. They can steal your food. They poop anywhere. They can eat your clothes and make you go a little zany in the head (especially if you don’t particularly like them!). Most unwelcome. And they can “accidentally” appear out of nowhere at a moments notice. Most unexpected. Isn’t  that how sin manifests in our lives too? Sometimes it’s left hiding in the shadows of our minds and makes an appearance when we least expect it. And when we leave it there without dealing with it … it steals and spoils the life God intended us to have. The good news is that you don’t have to fight it alone. That’s what friends and family are for. They can help you hunt out your rats and kill them!

So, I’m dealing with my rat problem(s). Are you?