Caleb, my 19 year old third born son, woke me with 7-11 coffee, a Chick-Fil-A cookie, pictures of a beautiful sunrise...
and his story of excitement in the night.
Last night, Caleb was awoken to what sounded like anguished human screaming!
He followed the sound to where we hold our trash and saw a "kitten" frantically swimming in a barrel trashcan. Reacting quickly to the urgent need, he quickly grabbed the "kitten" intending to take it inside by the woodstove to dry and warm it...only to realize he had a young raccoon in his grasp!!! He quickly let it go before it could bite him.
Caleb was half awake, so I am glad he dropped it BEFORE he brought it inside our home. Can you imagine?!
Clint had heard the frantic screaming and thought it was one of our younger girls. He had arrived just in time to look out a window and see Caleb pick up the raccoon and drop it.
Unfortunately for the baby raccoon, it landed back in the trashcan!
Caleb kicked over the trashcan and set the poor little coon free. It was very confused and walked up and down our deck stairs going back and forth past Caleb a few times before going under our house to dry off.
The masked baby was not there this morning, so we know it survived.
Because we have lost a kitten to a rain filled trashcan in the past, I drill holes in the bottom of our trashcans. This barrel trashcan was a recent addition by a family member. I was not aware of the new trashcan or the raccoons, so last night happened.
See, if our cans are not placed in their designated area, rain water comes off of a building's roof and fills the cans. They can't be set off to the side, care must be given to put them their proper spot. Life is so busy, sometimes we forget proper placement, and the rain fills them. To eliminate the risk of another fuzzy friend drowning, I drilled the holes.
A bag of trash was floating on the water in the trashcan, so the danger was concealed from the raccoon. Finding himself in a world of trouble, the pitiful creature cried out for help. Our loving God sent Caleb to the rescue.
When we do not give proper placement to God and His instructions, there are serious consequences. We need to remember that situations are not always as they appear, and be wary of traps laid for us by the enemy in this world full of trials and tribulations. We have to fight our fleshly desires, and submit to God's way for us to live.
Thankfully, even when we get our selves in trouble, God hears and responds to us just as He did to the raccoon last night. "Are you not of more value than they?" Mathew 6:26b
As I gently remind my dearest one and my seven joys of where to place the trashcans, I will be praying for myself, my family, and you too, Dear Reader, to keep God and His Word as our life's focus. Let us not wait until we are in dire straights to call out to the Lord. Let's acknowledge Him all along our way and ask Him to direct our paths. My love to all.
