It started with a scream from the basement followed by frantic stomping up the stairs. My daughter had found a mouse in the laundry room sink. Then there were the tell-tale droppings in the pantry cupboard and drawer of the stove. Reality set in…we have an infestation of mice in our house. I did what many 21st century computer savvy women would do – I Googled “how to get rid of mice” and waited for the answer. Here are some of the things I found out.
- Mice cannot abide the smell of peppermint. If you put a few drop of peppermint oil on cotton balls and place them in the areas the mouse are frequenting, they will not go back.
- Mouse traps are still the number one method of getting rid of the pests.
- There are many types of mouse traps – including ones you can make yourself.
- Mice will stay as long as there is food available. Every website I visited stressed the importance of keeping floors and counters clean and not leaving any food exposed for mice to find.
I immediately began working on these things. I pulled out the stove and pantry. It was evident by the amount of droppings that the mice had been around for more than a day or two. I cleaned the floor and spread peppermint extract on the floor. (I didn’t have oil on hand so it was the best I could do at the time.) In the pantry, I cleaned the shelves, put drops of peppermint around the edges and put all the food that was in bags into plastic containers; all the while being thankful for my friends who recently culled their Tupperware collection and blessed me with their excess.
I then called a friend who came over with some mouse traps and explained how to set them – they’re a new-fangled type, not like the old-fashioned ones that frequently snap back on your finger when you’re trying to set them. My friend pointed out something that was mentioned on all the websites I visited and it was this:
- No matter what methods you employ inside the house to deal with the mice that have gotten in, you must also figure out how they are getting in and deal with the problem on the outside of the house.
Accordingly, we walked around our house, examined each possible point of entry (we came up with two) and discussed how to deal with them.
As my friend left and I went about setting the mouse traps, it occurred to me that this situation parallels that of sin my life. I fall into sinful habits that don’t really seem all that bad and so I don’t pay attention to them till one day something happens that shocks me into action. I take the necessary steps to deal with the issue and feel pretty good about it because the symptoms have cleared up. Too often after a short time, the sinful habits begin to sneak back into my life. The traps – if you will – are no longer effective. The peppermint oil has lost its scent. The mice are definitely back.
As I continued to think about it I realized that the fifth point of how to get rid of mice is really the most vital – figure out how they’re getting in and deal with the point of entry. If I am struggling with sinful thoughts or habits, how are they getting into my heart/life?
Two things came to mind:
- Song of Solomon 2:15
Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards,
our vineyards that are in bloom.
It is easy for us to ignore things because they seem little but as this verse warns, little things can ruin things of value. An entire blooming vineyard can be destroyed by little foxes. A life brimming with purpose and possibility, a life that could bring harvest to God’s Kingdom, can be ruined by ‘little sins’. What little foxes am I letting into the vineyard that is my life?
- Philippians 4:8-9
Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.
If I am following the instruction in this passage, there is little chance that I will find the tell-tale droppings that speak of sin in my life. Rather, I will be able to walk uprightly, effectively living out my witness before God and man. If I am not, then I am effectively living out the phrase that the original computer geeks coined “Garbage in, garbage out”.
This week we will be doing what we can to deal with the possible points of entry for mice to our home. As for me, I’ll be taking stock of the possible points of entry of sin into my life – and doing my best to deal with them.
