Of Mice and More . . .
As you and your families are preparing to enter the New Year,
remember that we can give ALL of our problems to Him, for He
empowers us to do ALL things!
"I can do ALL things through Christ who gives me
strength!" (Phil. 4:13).
I had this mouse -- or perhaps
mice -- in my place yesterday. Now I am terrified of mice.
Absolutely horrified, actually. I can't sleep until I see the
"dead" evidence! So I sat there, paralyzed by the fact that
there was a mouse in my house! Every time the critter made his
appearance, I nearly went hysterical. Finally I talked to my
mom on the phone (thank God for free hours after 9 p.m.!). Her
recommendation? "Do something about it before it becomes big
and multiplies." So I went to the store to get poison and
traps, etc. I asked the man at the counter how to tell the
difference between a rat and a mouse. He answered, "What size
is it?" My reply? "When it runs around in my place, it's about
the size of an elephant. That's all I know!" He started
laughing, but of course I didn't see anything funny
about it.
Today, after little naps here and
there, I realized that I often let the little things needle me
(like the mouse--and it was indeed a mouse!). When I
don't take care of them right away, my environment becomes
infested. And I'm not just talking about mice! I'm talking
about outlook, emotions, problems, or whatever. But if I take
the measures to get the little thing killed off before there are
more little things, then I don't live in a constant
state of paralysis as though I was in an infested environment.
Remember, what may look like an
elephant to you, will probably seem small to someone else (like
the man at the hardware store!), and the reality is, they only
become elephants because we allow ourselves to view them that
way.
With God and the strength he
empowers us with, we can do all things! We can be overcomers!
"I can do ALL things through Christ who gives me
strength!" (Phil. 4:13).
Lord, help me to just remember
this every time I encounter something that looks to big and too
difficult . . .
Melanie Ingalls
|