It was Squirrel Appreciation Day.
Mom was the first downstairs that morning and found someone who didn’t belong
sitting on this ceramic hippo we have in the living room. A squirrel,
ironically. Now, we’ve had mice in our house for as long as I can remember,
just comes with living in an old farmhouse. We tend to get a bat or two in
august and send them back outside where they belong. I don’t remember ever
having a squirrel, though. So, as usual when we have an unwanted critter in the
house, I found myself praying for God to send this squirrel back outside where
it belongs.
The next morning I found it jumping
around the kitchen table. It had eaten the bait out of the have a heart trap
(without setting it off) and was looking for more food. Later it tried to get
out a window but was so impatient we couldn’t get it open without scaring it
off. Then I was cutting apples to make an apple pie and I see its little head
pop up on the shelf, smelling the yummy apples. It found the apple in the trap
and once again scampered off with it without it closing. After reengineering
the trap so it would actually close, we did finally catch it, but as dad went to
take it outside it managed to squeeze back out of the flimsy cage. I found
myself talking to the rascally little critter, “don’t you realize we’re trying
to help you?” I’d ask, “don’t you want to go back outside where you belong?” And
then, as usual when something crazy like this happens in my life, I realized people
act just like this squirrel.
God created squirrels to live
outside. They eat nuts and fruit and live in trees. They are meant to live
happy, healthy, little squirrel lives. They were never meant to live inside
with humans. Never supposed to live off peanut butter they manage to chew the
cover off of or resort to chewing on things like candy or processed food like
uncivilized mice. It isn’t good for them. And it isn’t good for them to live in
hiding, they’re meant to scamper and play with their little squirrel friends,
leaving all those snowy footprints I see circling around the backyard. At first
this squirrel of ours seemed to want to go outside, trying to get out the
window, it knew it didn’t belong here. But the longer it stayed the more it
seemed to be content just living up on our kitchen shelf. It became comfortable
with something it was never created to be comfortable with. And it was scared
of the very people who were trying to help it get back where it belonged.
In much the same way, people drift
from who and where they’re supposed to be. God created us with a purpose. He
gave us a body, mind, and soul to take care of in order to fulfil that purpose.
But what happens when we get ourselves stuck somewhere we don’t belong? Like
this squirrel in the house? Sometimes we might get ourselves out right away, we
know it’s wrong and correct the situation immediately. Or sometimes it feels
wrong at first, but the more time we spend in the situation, the less wrong it
feels. That sharp pang of our God given conscience telling us to get out
eventually dulls to an insignificant whisper.
All too often I watch people, and
myself, get more and more comfortable being where we don’t belong. Eating food
we shouldn’t be, exposing our minds to things we should stay away from, being
in relationships that pull us away from God instead of bringing us towards Him, living
in situations we should’ve never gotten into in the first place, getting
addicted to things that aren’t healthy for our minds, bodies, or souls. And the
more we get comfortable with those things, the more we push away God and the
very people who just want to help. The more comfortable we become with what’s
wrong, the more what’s right starts to feel wrong and uncomfortable.
God created us to be happy and
healthy people. He wants us to have healthy minds that can think and create, healthy
bodies to be his hands and feet, and healthy souls to keep Him in the middle of
it. He doesn’t want us in situations He didn’t create us for. He doesn’t want
us to become comfortable with things He never intended for us. And He certainly
never meant for us to try to fight the temptation of these things alone. He
puts people in our lives to steer us in the right direction and help us out of
the bad situations we’ve become all too comfortable with.
Eventually we did finally catch
that squirrel and send it back outside where it belongs. It took a lot of time
and patience, but we did succeed. And coming back to where we belong, or helping
someone we love find their way back, might take some time and patience too. Will
you take a step back with me and make sure we’re where God says we belong? You
might just find you’re a squirrel stuck in a house you were never meant to be
in.
