As I am writing this, “Puddin”, my pet raccoon is draped across my shoulders sleeping between the back of the chair and my neck. Ahhhhh, things have FINALLY settled down. Ever try using a computer with an “attack coon” on the rampage? Let me just say it’s an exercise in futility.
This morning the coon has scattered dog food all over the back porch, her and the bull dog pup have drug out everything they could find to chew on, she’s been inside the toilet and then all over the toilet and bathroom leaving little wet, dirty, raccoon tracks on everything she touches. You ought to see what they can do to a roll of toilet paper!
With this little pup and the coon, I have cleaned up more messes, poop and puke in the last few days than I have in possibly years! A loose coon in the house could rival 4 two year olds in their ability to get
into things that you have to forcibly remove them from. Anytime you allow a varmint (even a tame one) into your house….there WILL BE MESSES! So…….why do I have a baby raccoon?
Well, I actually think it’s because my “nest” is getting empty. One son is already off and running and the other one is close behind. I think I NEED something to NEED me. I have always had critters to love and for the past 20+ years I’ve had critters AND children…(in some ways there’s actually not a lot of difference!) But truthfully….I am getting so much enjoyment out of this twosome! They are PURE ENTERTAINMENT. People literally stop in their tracks to just stand, watch and laugh for awhile. I don’t care how busy I’ve been and how much is on my “to do” list…I’ve dropped everything just to watch their antics. That takes some doing for me.
I really think this is a small, overly simplified picture of us and God. We’re varmints…we all are….but God has opened His house to us. And He KNOWS that to allow us IN, means we come in with all our MESSES and He knows we will be creating more as we go! But He IS love….He doesn’t HAVE love…He IS. And love must GIVE. He LOVES! He loves us so much that He gave…..(John 3:16) Just like me accepting a baby raccoon that needed a mother, I KNEW what I was getting into….and I love her even though she leaves me with all sorts of messes to clean up. None of these messes are any surprise to me and for the most part, she’s oblivious to all the chaos she causes. She doesn’t know enough about what I do for her to truly appreciate how I have intercepted her life and am her sole provision and the reason she is even alive. She does love me, as much as she is capable of loving….and that’s enough for me. She shows her affection in many raccoon ways.
Get the picture? Magnify all these points a hundred times over and you have a small perception of our relationship (or lack thereof) to a very loving Heavenly Father. Fact is….He WANTS you! Messes and all! He is more aware of yours and my capability to totally screw something up than we can get a grasp of….and yet He loves and invites us in. With all the pressing business of running the universe, He still has time for you, and you alone! You can live in “the wild” if you want to, but I like living in the Master’s house!