Our New Furry "Friends"

It's 1:41 a.m. and M and I are parked outside Walmart. Chris Tomlin's on the radio. And K, my husband and my hero, is inside buying supplies for the war we're about to wage.

I saw the first one after breakfast. There was a rustling in the cabinets above the stove. I opened the door and there he was, peeking his mousy little face at me through the vent pipe opening.

I shrieked. K ran to my side. M laughed.

Later that day we heard the same rustling from the cabinets on the opposite wall. Hoping it was the same little guy but fearing not, we put traps in the cabinets and tried this clever solution:




Deep down I knew it would not work. Deep down I hoped and prayed it would.

That night, poor M, who usually sleeps like a champ, just could not get to sleep.

"Mommmmmmmy, are you? Daddddy!? Out!"

I went in to rock him (which was so not working). I laid him down for a moment and stepped into the hall to think of what to do next. And then...


A MOUSE darted past my feet, down the hall and into the bathroom!

I screamed. M cried. K jumped out of bed, certain we'd been robbed.

I was too shaken to even think of putting M back in his own bed, in his own room.

"He can just sleep with us," I said.

But little M, who has not slept with us since he was teeny tiny, was sure it was time to play.

He tossed. He turned. He stuck his finger up my nose.

By this time it was well past midnight and no one was thinking straight. I suggested we drive to Walmart for some more traps.

Surely M would fall sound asleep on the way.

But alas, here I am. Watching Dumbo with a delirious, wide-eyed toddler at 4 a.m.


Keeping my eyes peeled for any critters scurrying across the floor. And praying for daylight.


If this is a test, I am pretty sure I did not pass. But I think it is instead preparation. Our new life in South Asia is bound to be filled with the unexpected, and sometimes, the unsavory. And as much as the very thought gives me the quivers, it may very well include rats that make our teeny mouse look cute.

Today and every day, I am thankful to belong to the One whose grace is sufficient for me and whose power is made perfect in my weakness.