If you find a mouse in the house... you better pack up and move.. right?

I was doing dishes today and it sounded like one of my kids screamed, “there’s a mouse in the house!!” There may or may not have been a mouse in the house.. nothing ever came of it, so I’m thinking they were just playing a game. But as soon as I heard it, this thought entered my mind: “some people move when there is a mouse in the house. They don’t know what to do with the mouse, so they just leave.” 

I know. Funny thought. 

I also have this list of things to do on my counter in the kitchen. One of the things to do, is call the plumber. I’ve had to do that for about a year. It’s sort of like a mouse in my house.. something I don’t know what to do about it. I’m not a plumber. I don’t know how much they’ll charge me. I don’t know how it’s all going to turn out. So I don’t call. I just keep emptying and replacing the bucket underneath my sink.. and I wash dishes really fast.. and use the sink on the right hand side more often because it doesn’t leak. 

When I don’t know what to do, sometimes I freeze. And then the decision I make after is usually pretty interesting... I move away from wherever the pain or fear is coming from. I just don’t talk to that person. I just don’t go back to that restaurant. I just don’t post anything personal. I just don’t say what I think. 

Small things. Mostly small things. Yesterday at church someone brought up the idea of spouses, how we are supposed to be thinking about and talking to our loved ones from the same perspective as God. You know, like... even if they’re not perfect or haven’t totally achieved all things, we say things like, “you are a man of integrity. You are the best dad for our kids. You are so responsible in your care for our family... etc..” Stuff like that. Fillin’ up the old love tank.  I know big bad things happen. But I bet a lot of relationships go sour because of a mouse. A little thing that didn’t get talked about. A little thing that became 10 little things, that became a super huge annoying and frustrating thing that became absolutely unbearable. 

It’s those things we don’t know what to do with. 

I think a lot of relationships are impacted by these little “mice sightings.”  Sometimes in my relationships, a mouse happens. Fear. Discomfort. It’s awkward.  Little comments people make that come across unclear, or passive aggressive, or in a joke, but they hurt. And then the little mouse festers and another friendship falters. Little things. I had a comment on Facebook a while back. It made me so mad. But I haven’t talked to the person. I’m afraid. I don’t have a solid sense of how it will go. I’m not sure they will see it my way. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know if they care. I haven’t said anything and my heart has moved away. 
Sometimes it’s neighbors. They looked at me funny or scolded my kids once last summer. Now I look  away. A little mouse in my heart. 

I don’t want to have to address it. It’s not that big of a deal. I shouldn’t have to do something about it. It’s their issue. They’ve probably already forgotten about it anyway. 


Mice. But it’s crazy to move out of your house if a mouse moves in... Isn’t it?


PS. Don't worry about the person on Facebook that made me mad. It's not you. And if it was, you have no idea and it's not your responsibility. It's mine. I will figure it out and do the best thing for my heart.

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