“Serving overseas as a small-town boy in America has been intense, stressful and humorous! Enjoy a light-hearted story with me from our last 20 years overseas!”
—Matt
Furry Christmas Gift
I grew up shaking and checking my shoes that were stored outside in the garage, before putting them on during the winter time. Sometimes mice would use my shoes as sleeping bags. I remember watching my grandpa milk a cow once, when all of a sudden, he started dancing and running around. The little baby mice in the rafters of the barn above his head started falling out of their nest. They fell right down the back of his shirt collar, down his back, and were squirming around & stuck in his overalls.
Living overseas has meant parking a vehicle in a below ground parking lot with a storage space (large closet) behind the parking spot. All the extra junk that doesn’t fit in the little apartment goes in that little storage space.
Once, when going down to our vehicle, I found liquid below it. I lifted the hood and searched around for a while to discover that the brake fluid line had been roughly cut open. On showing the mechanic, he said, “Oh, that was a rat! They will chew through anything and have teeth of steel.” We fixed the brake fluid line and I never thought more of it.
Later when getting Christmas decorations out off my storage space, I decided to rummage around through the boxes before carrying them up. I gave a jump when I found that the contents inside of one of the boxes had been stirred around. I found the furry culprit toward the bottom. It was a very big and very dead, furry rat. I concluded his brake fluid drink had sent him to his cardboard casket.
I believe it is a bad practice for husband and wife to keep secrets from one another. However, I didn’t tell my wife that a rat was at rest in a box with her favorite family Christmas ornaments. I don’t think she could see Grandma’s ornaments hanging on the Christmas tree, without thinking about the rat if she knew.
I’d guess barns and stables and garages haven’t changed purpose that much. They are the daily life places that are not only for storing stuff, but tend to attract unwanted little critters. The stable in Bethlehem surely had some of those same unwanted critters too, and that speaks to the great humility of our Messiah King who came to earth rescue us.
Something similar ever happen to you? Contact me and let me hear your story!
mattsmishaps@gmail.com Matt’s Mishaps, PO BOX 114, Grabill, IN 46741
