Mice In My House, Love In My Heart

How come when my friend, who is staying with us, asked if she could keep her pet mouse in her room, I was fine with that? Yet, last summer when hundreds (or a dozen) were camping in my kitchen drawers I was not so willing to share my house. Why is a cute chubby white mouse adorable? While a skinny grey one is disgusting.

I have concluded it is all about poop and diet. Yes, poop and diet! I am fine with a mouse pooping in sawdust in a cage but not okay with them pooping in the same drawer with my spices and pinto beans. I am glad to give the cute caged cousin left overs, but don't want intruders helping themselves to my crackers and tubes of frosting.

There is no way I would hurt the caged critter. However, I spent a fortune to try to extinguish his not so popular relative.

We treat people this way sometimes. If we know someone who looks not so legitimate, we can be friendly and even fond of them. Yet, if we see a homeless person who has not bathed or puffed, we may cross the street to avoid them. It is said we should not judge a book by its cover or a person for how they look. Simple fact is we do. It is our way of protecting ourselves and avoiding an uncomfortable situation.

There is a new song on the Christian radio stations about the people Jesus associated with while he was on earth. It begs the question, would his people be welcomed in our churches. Tough question! Our churches as our lives should be open to all God's people, but like the mice in my drawers there are places we protect.

I hope to be more open and tolerant in the future. No, I am not going to let mice run rampant in my kitchen. I do hope to reach out to others even when it is uncomfortable. My Young Life campaigners made bags for the homeless. We put snacks, juice boxes, uplifting notes, and hand sanitizers in the bag. Decorating them was fun and finding opportunities to pass them out has been amazing. The 1st one I gave out was met with a warm smile and a God Bless you. I thought I might have just gotten lucky. Boy was I wrong. Every bag we gave out was appreciated and each person had a grateful heart, no matter how they looked or smelled.

This has been quite a lesson for me. I never even realized how closed minded and afraid I had become in my comfortable life. Please forgive me and thanks for changing my heart.

In Him,

Joyful
3-1-2010