Dear Montrose Mice

This is a blog I wrote in 2006. We had moved to Mississippi because we felt that God was going to lead us to a church, but that didn't happen right away. From August until the end of November, we were waiting on God to reveal the plan. This is the story of the night we found out Montrose was interested in calling Josh full-time...

I got to reading my old blogs and the whole process of God's call on us. I knew that when I was writing 5 months ago about being stressed that I didn't have a job that it wouldn't be long before I looked back and smiled at the way God worked things out.


The one thing we haven't seen worked out yet is finding the church God would have us to serve at. I know it seems crazy to people because that is the whole reason we moved here. But I haven't stressed out about it. God gave me a peace way back before we moved that it may be a while before He led us to a church. I've been okay with that. I've actually enjoyed having some down time before Josh becomes a full-time pastor. I know that once he does our lives will never be the same. I've also enjoyed getting to visit the other churches where Josh has had the chance to fill in. Thankfully they have all had nurseries!! But still, we've known that God was at work.
I have not been stressed out about the whole church situation, but other people are! All of my patients want to know what Josh does and when I tell them it really bothers them that he does not have a church yet. They immediately start naming off churches that they think are in need of a pastor. I've even been told about churches of other denominations that need pastors! :) So, I've stopped discussing it with my patients because they have enough to worry about. Then when we meet the people at the churches around here and they figure out Josh isn't working it totally freaks them out. I explain that I am working, we have a house to live in and food to eat.
Anyway, lately I've been thinking a lot about the fact that we are still not settled because we don't know how long we will be in this house. Once Josh is called to a church, we will be moving again. I'm amazed at how attached I've become to our little farm house. You tend to bond with a house when you've laid every tile on the floor! I've also heard stories about this house from people in the community who used to come here and play when they were little. The man who owns the house was actually born in it 80 years ago. I just love the history of this house. This weekend I started my next project, the porch. I love porches!!! I think I get that from my mama. But our porch currently has a couch and a loveseat and an old stove on it. I'm not kidding, we really do. But I've found someone who can use the couch and loveseat so soon it will be gone. That has motivated me to get to work. I painted our front door and an old wooden chair that was left by the previous renter. Josh bought me some mums and I'm so excited because everybody has mums on their porch here. It's the thing to do! :) Sarah painted a pumpkin to put on the rail. It really made it feel more homey.



That motivated me to paint our hallway which I've been meaning to paint ever since we first moved in. The walls were just dirty looking so I painted them white and now they feel new and clean. Josh had taken Sarah with him to vacuum out our jeep and I was in the middle of painting when I realized there was a car in our driveway. It was Bro. Allen, one of the chaplains I work with. He is also the interim pastor at the church Josh and I have really felt like we would be called to. So, Bro.Allen and his wife came in and I closed Abby in the kitchen so she wouldn't attack them. Bro. Allen was explaining that the church was talking about asking Josh to come back and preach a few services. While he was telling me this I realized Abby was in the room with the paint!!! While they were leaving the phone was ringing. I didn't get to it in time, but there was a message from one of the deacons for Josh to call him back. While I was listening to the message I looked and saw that there were white paw prints all over the kitchen and the living room!!!!!! I also must tell you that Jenny gave me a gift card to Pier 1 for my graduation in April and I had just used it to buy a new rug which is now also covered in white paw prints! So, Josh and Sarah came in at this moment. I told Josh the whole church deal while I scrubbed paint off the floor. Luckily it came off. I'll have to work on the rug some more. :( Then, the phone rang again and Sarah answered. I figured it was one of the grandparents, but then I heard her say, "He's going potty" and I realized it was probably that guy calling back for Josh! It was and luckily Josh finished "going potty" in time to talk. He told Josh that he does want him to come back and preach and that they really like us and they want us to live in the parsonage, but there are still some people that haven't heard him preach yet. So pray for us on Nov. 5th and Nov. 12th. That's when Josh is preaching.

And pray for me. And my rug. And my dog. And my little farm house. As I was scrubbing the floor tonight Sarah said, "You're like Cinderella, huh?" Oh yeah, I'm just like Cinderella!!!! :)


************************************************************************************

I remembered this story as I was spending some time on the computer yesterday and realized...I had a stalker. I really wanted to write something spiritual or thoughtful today, but y'all my mind has already gone into unsettled, we're moving, the house is turned upside down, nothing is normal mode and so I apologize. This is another mouse story. I think after my last mouse sighting and rereading that old blog I have had a revelation about the role of the mice in my life....


This is how it went down. I was sitting in the recliner on the laptop and I happened to look over at the corner where Josh has some big speaker thing and on top of it is our wireless router thing. At the exact moment I looked...a mouse climbed down from it. Me and the kids did our normal freak out thing and I started looking all over for it. Couldn't find it. I figured it had gone into the wall somehow. I sat back down and not 10 minutes later I looked over again. IT WAS WATCHING ME! Y'all, I am not kidding. It was sitting on top of the wireless router thing just watching me. We made eye contact. It ran away. I became convinced the mouse is stalking me. Mice don't sit out in the open on top of electronics taking in the scenery. They hide, they run, they die in places you can't find them, just smell them. Anyway, I became convinced this mouse was stalking me. I looked again and it was "hiding" behind the big speaker thing. (Josh has told me a million times what it is, but I can't for the life of me remember what it is .) It was just sitting there with it's back pressed up against the thing like I couldn't see it. I put out two traps on each side, but apparently they didn't work because in no time I saw the mouse on the other side of the room moseying into the kitchen. (For those of you who are not Southerners, moseying=strolling along.)



I learned in that moment that the thing that freaks me out about the mouse is how fast and stealthlike they are. I'm a stinkin' nervous, jumpy wreck after the constant flashes of their presence. So, the moseying mouse actually didn't bother me as bad. Weird, I know. I moved the traps and soon had a live catch. For real, the fact that I am now a professional mouse hunter is as shocking to me as I'm sure it is to many of you. I won't lie, I've only had one other live catch. I put a shoebox over it and made Josh take care of it. So, before I even had a chance to figure out how I would handle this sitchuwation (as Eli would say) Daisy decided to handle it.



Before I knew what was happening Daisy came running out of the kitchen trying to shake off the glue trap WITH A LIVE MOUSE ON IT!!!!!!! The mouse was flailing, Daisy was running in circles shaking her paw. I was screaming. Daisy kept coming after me for assistance, but I was running away from her and the kids were freaking out. I called Josh and got his voicemail. I said, "Josh. Josh. JOSH. JOSH!!! Will you call me back?" I'm sure he wishes I would just call to say I love you. But there is no time for Stevie Wonder moments in this house. I thought at one point Daisy had completely crushed the mouse under her paw and then I realized she had knocked it off on the ground. My stalker was now dead. Very dead. And probably thankful to be so after the trauma of the big dog flinging it across the room. I had the lovely job of cutting Daisy's fur out of the glue trap. Glamorous I tell you. My life is all glamour. Oh yeah, then I got to sweep up the mouse.



As I tossed him out the door I thought of my "Cinderella" status Sarah bestowed upon back in the day and wondered if I have messed up this whole mouse thing. Maybe they think I'm Cinderella. Maybe they were really here to help me and be my friend before this whole relationship turned ugly. I feel I owe them an apology....



Dear Montrose Mice,

I am so sorry that I have been such a disappointment to you in my role as princess of this church manse. I apologize that instead of humming a melodious tune I scream like a banchee. I regret that I have not properly dressed you in Barbie doll clothes and made little beds for you out of dollhouse furniture (even though you did once make yourself at home in the girl's dollhouse.) I hope you do not hold any ill feelings towards me for not protecting you from the neighborhood cats. I didn't mean to celebrate quite so much when they took up residence under our house. I regret that I have not made the most of this relationship. I would have loved for you to make me a ballgown. Perhaps that is why you were hanging out in my lingerie drawer. Making plans were you? Were you simply trying to help me in the kitchen when I baked you? I am SO sorry! In all fairness you have not done your part in cleaning up after yourselves. You are quite messy. However, I still hate that we have not become better friends. I have given you names. Just not any this Cinderella can say in public. :) Despite my new found repentance, I must request that you not accompany us to the new church manse. It will be a long, treacherous trip and I'm afraid many of you will not survive. Okay, seriously, I am afraid that too many of you WOULD survive. I just think it best that you stay here in your home. You are obviously very settled in. :) Please find it in your hearts to forgive Prince Charming and myself for the many tragic, cruel and unusual ways that so many of your friends and family have met their demise. It was never our intention.



Best Wishes (especially wishing to never see you again),
Cinderella