Wow, so it's been a CRAZY day. I was lamenting yesterday in a saved draft post that my life is stupid with boredom when I got home from dinner last night and spotted a mouse in my closet. Holy smoke pipe! I've never seen a mouse running through a house, so it was very disturbing, not to mention the fact that I saw it in two places and I had no mouse traps or poison to kill it with. I basically had to sit tight until the next day.
I freaked out and called the only person who could console me and offer advice--my mom. Brought my landlady's cat up as a living mousetrap, but he was in awe that I actually invited him in and was showing him some love that he didn't get a chance to see the bugger. I put as much food away as I could and eventually fell asleep watching Michael Jackson videos on TV, waking up every so often with thoughts of the little brown intruder in my home.
So, morning rolls in, and I'm like "OK, ok, you got this. Don't be scared. There's still a mouse here somewhere and you
may see it while getting ready for work." Psyching myself up for confrontation. Well, it
still caught me off guard to see a little mouse head poking through the eye of my range top. Uber ew.
Now I'm kicking myself for not keeping up with my cleaning schedule like I used to. Not that I think my place was gross, but there certainly were a lot more hiding places for something like this to happen (clothes to be put away, a few dishes to wash, etc.). Needless to say, Operation "Straighten and Disinfect This Place From Top to Bottom" is in full effect now.
So, I go to Walmart this morning to buy traps. I don't even know where that is in the store. You'd think it'd be in the home section, but it's back by the trash bags, eerily close to the grocery side of the store. I select the baited sticky pad traps and a non-violent, PETA humane trap door box trap. I decide to use the sticky ones because the mouse is small and I REALLY don't want to pick up a semi-transparent box with a live mouse inside. Ew.
As I come back home at the end of my work day, I'm praying hard. You'd think there was a dead body in my apt. or something. I'm sweating, praying, breathing hard, butterflies in stomach for what I would see on the pad. Is it just one mouse? Is there more than one stuck around? Is it half-stuck, dragging it around with it? Sorry. I'll stop now. Anywhoo, I peek over the stair rail and see that the one on the counter is empty. Whew. I slowly walk up a couple more steps and peek around the half-wall in the kitchen. It's on there. Sigh of relief. I gear up to sweep it away. Prayed again. Thank you God for helping this mouse get caught!
I feel so accomplished right now. It's a nasty accomplishment, but still...relief is here. Still can't eat here yet. That may take another day.
Phil. 4:13 was at work in my life today. I praise God that I conquered my fear. I could have called someone to come and help me, but I prayed and trusted that He would give me strength to face this challenge. Fear is very insidious. If you let it rule in one area of your life, it will seep into other areas as well. So, step it up! What are you shrinking back from in your life?
BONUS: So, I hit up an area on my nightstand that has been home to miscellaneous receipts from my wallet for a few weeks now. I go through the receipts and lo and behold, there's a $20! Wow. That NEVER happens to me. If I have money, I know where it is and how I'm planning on spending it. LOL. So, I feel like God rewarded me for being brave and tackling one of my most hated, most feared things: creepy crawly.
Give God a chance to work in your life today. Yes, in the little things of your life. I promise you won't be disappointed.
